2.54- (p| 


UC-NRLF 


B     3     M2D    fl2fl 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

•0- 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


lsas£       DOUBLE  MUMBER      -HSBHWff- 


&% 

^^^^^SSS^SS^^S^^S^^^^feS^^ZSS^S^ 

^ 

-i  nvi 

1 

§ 

1 

iv 

THE  NATURALIST 

ON  THE 

RIVER    AMAZONS 

f^ 
^ 

| 

S 

V^ 

1 

s 

& 
ft 

1 

C^j 

S 

1 
s 

§ 

i> 

i 

^ 
^ 
fe 
^ 

i 

\ 
V 

k 

| 

.X 

BY 

HENRY  W.    BATES 

K23^^g^^g^^^^^^^S§^^g^^^§^^^^gS^ 

S                            NEW  YORK                              S 

1  THE  HUMBOLDT  PUBLISHING  COHPANY  I 

K                        \9  ASTOR  PUACE                            | 

l^^^^^S§§^^^^^^S^2^§^SS^^S2§^^S32x, 

y^fyzyZ^o^^^y^y^tttt^^ 

&2> 

BNTHRED  AT    THE  NEW  YORK    POST  OKFiCE  AS  SECOND  CLASS  MATTBR. 


A  Remarkable  Book. — Edward  Bellamy. 

,  '«O'  f  ——————— ^^_^^— _——_«— .i—^^^ii™ 

THE 

KINGDOM  OF  THE  UNSELFISH; 

OR, 

EMPIRE  OF  THE  WISE. 

BY  JOHN  LORD  PECK. 

Cloth,   i2mo $1.00. 

"Should  be  re-read  by  every  seeker  after  truth." — Rockiand Independent. 
"  Polished  in  style  and  very  often  exquisite  in  expression." — Natick  Citizen. 

"  The  book  is  interesting  throughout,  and  the  more  widely  it  is  read  the  better."— 
tion." —  Twentieth  Century. 

"  Shows  profound  research,  original  ideas,  and  what  might  be  almost  called  inspira- 
tion."— Sunday  Times  (Tacoma). 

"  The  effort  is  noble,  and  the  author  has  not  escaped  saying  many  profound  and  true 
things." — Christian  Union. 

"  One  of  a  large  number  of  '  reformatory  '  volumes  now  being  printed,  but  it  is  better 
than  many  of  them."—  Truth  Seeker. 

"  The  book  is  from  a  widely-read  man,  and  is  written  for  a  high  end.  In  its  intellectual 
and  '  spiritual '  aspects,  it  is  educative  and  stimulating." — The  New  Ideal. 

"  The  book  before  us  is  one  of  the  signs  of  the  times.  It  prophesies  a  new  age,  and 
exhorts  to  the  life  which  shall  further  its  coming." — New  Church  Messenger. 

"  The  book  is  a  natural  product  of  the  prophetic  element  of  the  times,  which  is  reach- 
ing forward  into  the  new  economic  age  we  are  just  entering." — Teacher's  Outlook. 

"  The  chapters  on  '  Natural  and  Social  Selection  '  are  among  the  most  interesting  in  the 
book,  and  require  close  reading  to  take  in  the  whole  drift  of  their  meaning." — Detroit 
Tribune. 

"  It  is  a  real  contribution  to  original  and  advanced  thought  upon  the  highest  themes  of 
life  and  religion — of  intellectual,  moral,  social,  material  and  spiritual  progress." — The 
Unitarian. 

"  There  are  many  golden  sentences  in  the  chapter  on  Love,  and  the  practical  good 
sense  shown  in  the  treatment  of  the  marriage  question  would  help  many  husbands  and 
wives  to  live  more  happily  together." — The  Dawn. 

"  This  a  new  and  thoroughly  original  treatment  of  the  subjects  of  morality,  religion 
and  human  perfectibility,  and  furnishes  a  new  ground  for  the  treatment  of  all  social  ques- 
tions. It  is  radical  and  unique." — The  Northwestern. 

"  It  is  in  no  sense  an  ordinary  work.  It  makes  strong  claims  and  attempts  to  carry  out 
the  largest  purposes.  Taking  the  standpoint  of  science,  it  attacks  the  gravest  problems  of 
the  times  with  an  endeavor  to  show  that  the  most  advanced  science  will  enable  us  to  reach 
the  most  satisfactory  conclusions." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"One  of  the  most  important  recent  works  for  those  who  are  striving  to  rise  into  a 
nobler  life,  who  are  struggling  to  escape  the  thraldom  of  the  present  selfish  and  pessimistic 
age.  Many  passages  in  Mr.  Peck's  work  strongly  suggest  the  lofty  teachings  of  those 
noblest  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  the  Stoics.  Those  who  are  hungering  and  thirsting 
after  a  nobler  existence  will  find  much  inspiration  in  '  The  Kingdom  of  the  Unselfish.'  "• 
The  A  rena. 

THE  HUMBOLDT  PUBLISHING  CO. 

64  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


f= 


Bancroft 


-Bancroft  i.lbr»iy 


PRESERVATKDN 
COPY  ADDED 
ORIGINAL  TO  BE 
RETAINED 


t- 
X 


NOV  2      1992 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 

A  RECORD  OF  ADVENTURES,  HABITS  OF  ANIMALS,  SKETCHES  OF  BRAZILIAN  AND 

INDIAN  LIFE,  AND  ASPECTS  OF  NATURE  UNDER  THE  EQUATOR,  DURING 

ELEVEN   YEARS   OF  TRAVEL. 


BY 


HENRY  WALTER  BATES,  F.L.S., 

(Assistant  Secretary  to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  England.) 


PARTS  I.  A^TD  II.  COMPLETE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PARA. 

Arrival— Aspect  of  the  country— The  ParS  river— First 
walk  in  the  suburbs  of  Para— Birds,  Lizards,  and 
Insects  of  the  suburbs— Leaf-carrying  Ant— Sketch 
of  the  climate,  history,  and  present  condition  of 
Para. 

I  EMBARKED  at  Liverpool,  with  Mr.  Wal- 
lace, in  a  mall  trading  vessel,  on  the  26th  of 
April,  1848  ;  and,  after  a  swift  passage  from 
the  Irish  Channel  to  the  equator,  arrived,  on 
the  26th  of  May,  off  Salinas.  Thin  is  the 
pilot-station  for  vessels  bound  to  Para,  the 
only  port  of  entry  to  the  vast  region  watered 
by  the  Amazons.  It  is  a  small  village,  for- 
merly a  missionary  settlement  of  the  Jesuits, 
situated  a  few  miles  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Para  river.  Here  the  ship  anchored  in  the 
open  sea,  at  a  distance  of  six  miles  from  the 


shore,  the  shallowness  of  the  water  far  out 
around  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  not  per- 
mitting in  safety  a  nearer  approach  ;  and  the 
signal  was  hoisted  for  a  pilot.  It  was  with 
deep  interest  that  my  companion  and  myself, 
both  now  about  to  see  and  examine  the  beau- 
ties of  a  tropical  country  for  the  first  time, 
gazed  on  the  land  where  I,  at  least,  eventually 
spent  eleven  of  the  best  years  of  my  life.  To 
the  eastward  the  country  was  not  remarkable 
in  appearance,  being  slightly  undulating, 
with  bare  sand-hills  and  scattered  trees  ;  but 
to  the  westward,  stretching  toward  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  we  could  see  through  the  cap- 
tain's glass  a  long  line  of  forest,  rising  appar- 
ently out  of  the  water  ;  a  densely-packed 
mas*-;  of  tall  trees,  broken  into  groups,  and 
finally  into  single  trees,  as  it  dwindled  away 
in  the  distance.  This  was  the  frontier,  im 


THE  NATURALIST   OX    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


this  direction,  of  the  great  primeval  forest 
characteristic  of  this  region,  which  contains 
so  many  wonders  in  its  recesses,  and  clothes 
the  whole  surface  of  the  country  for  two 
thousand  miles  from  this  point  to  the  foot  of 
the  Andes. 

On  the  following  day  and  night  we  sailed, 
with  a  light  wind,  partly  aided  by  the  tide, 
up  the  Para  river.  Toward  evening  we 
passed  Vigia  and  Colares,  two  fishing  vil- 
lages, and  saw  many  native  canoes,  which 
seemed  like  toys  beneath  the  lofty  walls  of 
the  dark  forest.  The  air  was  excessively  close, 
the  sky  overcast,  and  sheet  lightning  played 
almost  incessantly  around  the  horizon,  an  ap- 
prop'iate  greeting  on  the  threshold  of  a  conn- 
try  lying  close  under  the  equator  !  The 
evening  was  calm,  this  being  the  season 
when  the  winds  are  not  strong,  so  \ve  glided 
along  in  a  noiseless  manner,  which  contrast- 
ed pleasantly  with  the  unceasing  turmoil  to 
which  we  had  been  lately  accustomed  on  the 
Atlantic.  The  immensity  of  the  river  struck 
us  greatly,  for  although  sailing  sometimes  at 
a  distance  of  eight  or  nine  miles  from  the 
eastern  bank,  the  opposite  shore  was  at  no 
time  visible.  Indeed,  the  Para  river  is 
thirty-six  miles  in  breadth  at  its  mouth  ;  and 
at  the  city  of'Para,  nearly  seventy  miles  from 
the  sea,  it  is  twenty  miles  wide  ;  buf.  at  that 
point  a  series  of  islands  commences,  which 
contracts  the  river  view  in  front  of  the  port. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  May  we  ar- 
rived at  our  destination.  The  appearance  of 
the  city  at  sunrise  was  pleasing  in  the  high- 
est degree.  It  is  built  on  a  low  tract  of  land, 
having  only  one  small  rocky  elevation  at  its 
southern  extremity  ;  it  therefore  affords  no 
amp  hit  heat  ral  view  from  the  river  ;  but  the 
white  buildings  roofed  with  red  tiles,  the 
numerous  towers  and  cupolas  of  churches 
and  convents,  the  crowds  of  palm-trees  reared 
above  the  buildings,  all  sharply  defined 
against  the  clear  blue  sky,  give  an  appear- 
ance of  lightness  and  cheerfulness  which  h 
most  exhilarating.  The  perpetual  forest 
hems  the  city  in  on  all  sides  landward  ;  and 
toward  the  suburbs  picturesque  country 
houses  are  seen  scattered  about,  half  buried 
in  luxuriant  foliage.  The  port  was  full  of 
native  canoes  and  other  vessels,  large  and 
small  ;  and  the  tinging  of  bells  and  firing  of 
presets,  announcing  the  dawn  of  sJme 
Roman  Catholic  festival  day,'  showed  that 
the  p  jpul-ation  was  astir  at  that  early  hour. 

The  impressions  received  during  our  first 
walk,  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  our  ar- 
rival, can  never  wholly  fada  from  my  mind. 
After  traversing  the  few  streets  of  tall. 
gioomy,  convent-looking  buildings  near  the 
port,  inhabited  chiefly  by  merchants  and 
shopkeepers  ;  along  which  idle  soldiers, 
dressed  in  slribby  uniforms,  carrying  their 
xnaskets  carelessly  over  their  arms,  priests, 
neg^esses  with  red  water-jara  on  (heir  heads, 
sad-looking  Indian  women  carrying  their 
naked  children  astride  on  thoir  hips,  and 
other  samples  of  the  motley  life  of  the  place, 
were  seen  ;  ye  passed  down  a  long  narrow 


street  leading  to  the  suburbs.  Beyond  this, 
our  road  lay  across  a  grassy  common  into  u 
picturesque  lane  leading  to  the  virgin  forest. 
The  long  street  was  inhabited  by  the  poorer 
class  of  the  population.  The  houses  were  of 
one  story  only,  and  had  an  irregular  and 
mean  appearance.  The  windows  were  with- 
out glass,  having,  instead,  projecting  lattice 
casements.  The  street  was  unpaved,  and 
inches  deep  in  loose  sand.  Groups  of  people 
were  cooling  themselves  outside  their  Joors 
— people  of  all  shades  in  color  of  skin,  Euro- 
pean, negro  and  Indian,  but  chiefly  an  un- 
certain mixture  of  the  three.  Among  them 
were  several  handsome  women,  dressed  in  a 
slovenly  manner,  barefoot  or  shod  in  looi=e 
slippers  ;  but  wearing  richly  decorated  ear- 
rings, and  around  their  necks  strings  of  very 
large  gold  beads.  They  hai  dark  expressive 
eyes,  and  remarkably  rich  heads  of  hair.  It 
was  a  mere  fancy,  but  I  thought  the  mingled 
squalor,  luxuriance,and  beauty  of  these  wom- 
en were  pointedly  in  harmony  with  the  rest  of 
the  scene  ;  so  striking,  in  the  view,  was  the 
mixture  of  natural  riches  and,  human  poverty. 
The  houses  were  mostly  in  a  dilapidated  con- 
dition, and  signs  of  indolence  and  neglect 
were  everywhere  visible.  The  wooden  pal- 
ings which  surrounded  the  weed-grown  gar- 
dens TV  ere  strewn  about,  broken  ;  and  hogs, 
goats,  and  ill-fed  poultry  wandered  in  acd 
out  through  the  gaps.  But  amid  all,  and 
compensating  every  defect,  rose  the  over- 
powering be:iuty  of  the  vegetation.  The 
massive  dark  crowns  of  shady  mangoes  were 
seen  everywhere  among  the  dwellings,  amid 
fragrant  blossoming  orange,  lemon,  and 
many  other  tropical  fruit-trees ;  some  in 
flower,  others  in  fruit,  at  varying  stages  of 
ripeness.  Here  and  there,  shooting  above 
the  more  dome-like  and  sombre  trees,  were 
the  smooth  columnar  stems  of  palms,  bearing 
aloft  their  magnificent  crowns  of  finely  cut 
fronds.  Among  the  latter  the  slim  assni- 
palm  was  especially  noticeable,  growing  in 
groups  of  four  and  five  ;  its  smooth,  gently- 
curving  stem,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high,  ter- 
minating in  a  head  of  feathery  foliage,  inex- 
pressibly light  and  elegant  in  outline.  On 
the  boughs  of  the  taller  and  more  ordinary- 
looking  trees  sat  tufts  of  curiously-leaved 
parasites.  Slender  woody  lianas  hung  in 
festoons  from  the  branches,  or  were  sus- 
pended in  the  form  of  cords  and  ribbons  ; 
while  luxuriant,  creeping  plants  overran  alike 
tree-trunks,  roofs  and  walls,  or  toppled  over 
palings  in  copious  profusion  of  foliage.  The 
superb  banana  (Musa  paradisiaca),  of  which 
I  had  always  read  as  forming  one  of  the 
charms  of  tropical  vegetation,  here  grew  with 
great  luxuriance  .  its  glossy  velvety-green 
leaves,  twelve  feet  m  length,  curving  over  the 
roofs  of  verandas  in  the  "rear  of  every  house. 
The  shape  of  the  leaves,  the  varying  shades 
of  gre^n  which  they  present  when  lightly 
moved  by  the  wind,  and  especially  the  con- 
trast they  afford  in  color  and  form  to  the 
more  sombre  hues  and  more  rounded  outline 
of  the  other  trees,  are  quite  sufficient  to  ac- 
far  the  cha'tr-  of  this  glorious  tree. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


635 


Strange  forms  of  vegetation  drew  our  atten- 
tion at  almost  every  step.  Among  them  were 
the  different  kinds  of  Bromelia,  or  pine-apple 
plants,  with  their  long,  rigid,  sword -shaped 
leaves,  in  some  species  jagged  or  toothed 
ahmg  their  edges.  Then  there  was  the 
bread-fruit-tree — an  importation,  it  is  true  ; 
but  remarkable  for  its  large,  glossy,  dark- 
green,  strongly  digitated  foliage,  and  its  in- 
teresting history.  Many  other  trees  and 
plants,  curious  in  leaf,  stem,  or  manner  of 
growth,  grew  on  the  borders  of  the  thickets 
ulong  which  lay  our  road  ;  they  were  all  at- 
tractive to  new-comers,  whose  last  country 
ramble,  of  quite  recent  date,  was  over  the 
bleak  moors  of  Derbyshire  on  a  sleety  morn- 
ing in  April. 

As  we  continued  our  walk  the  brief  twi- 
light commenced,  and  the  sounds  of  multi- 
farious life  came  from  the  vegetation  around. 
The  whiiriug  of  cicadas  ;  the  shrill  stridula- 
tion  of  a  vast  number  and  variety  of  field 
crickets  and  grasshoppers,  each  species  sound- 
ing its  peculiar  note  ;  the  plaintive  hooting  of 
tree  frogs — all  blended  together  in  one  con- 
tinuous ringing  sound — the  audible  expression 
of  the  teeming  profusion  of  nature.  As  night 
came  on,  many  species  of  frogs  and  toads  in 
the  marshy  places  joined  in  the  chorus  ;  iheir 
croaking  and  drumming,  far  louder  than  any- 
thing I  had  before  heard  in  the  same  line, 
being  added  to  the  other  noises,  created  an 
almost  deafening  din.  This  uproar  of  life,  I 
afterward  found,  never  wholly  ceased,  night 
or  day  :  in  course  of  time  I  became,  like 
other  residents,  accustomed  to  it.  It  is,  How- 
ever, one  of  the  peculiarities  of  a  tropical — 
at  least  a  Brazilian — climate  which  is  mosl 
likely  to  surprise  a  stranger.  After  my  re- 
turn to  England,  the  death-like  stillness  of 
summer  days  in  the  country  appeared  to  me 
as  strange  as  the  ringing  uproar  did  en  my 
first  arrival  at  Para.  The  object  of  our  visit 
being  accomplished,  we  returned  to  the  city. 
The  fire-flies  were  then  out  in  great  numbers, 
flitting  about  the  sombre  woods,  and  even 
the  frequented  streets.  We  turned  into  our 
hammocks,  well  pleased  with  what  we  hud 
seen,  and  full  of  anticipation  with  regard 
to  the  wealth  of  natural  objects  we  had  come 
to  explore. 

During  the  first  few  days  we  were  em- 
ployed in  landing  our  baggage  and  arranging 
our  extensive  apparatus.  We  then  accepted 
the  invitation  of  the  consignee  of  the  vessel 
t^>  make  use  of  his  rocinha.  or  country-house 
in  the  suburbs,  until  we  finally  decided  on  a 
residence.  Upon  this  we  made  our  first 
essay  in  housekeeping.  We  bought  cotton 
hammocks,  the  universal  substitute  for  beds 
in  this  country,  cooking  utensils,  and 
crockery,  and  engaged  a  free  negro,  named 
Isidore,  as  cook  and  servant  of  all  woik. 
Our  first  walks  were  in  the  immediate  sub- 
urbs of  Para.  The  city  lies  on  a  corner  of 
land  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  river 
Guama  with  the  Para.  As  I  have  said  be- 
fore, the  forest  which  covers  the  whole  coun- 


try extends  close  up  to  the  city  streets  ;  In- 
deed, the  town  is  built  on  a  tract  of  cleared 
land,  and  is  kept  free  from  the  jungle  only 
by  the  constant  care  of  the  Government. 
The  surface,  though  everywhere  low,  is 
slightly  undulating,  so  that  areas  of  dry  land 
alternate  throughout  with  areas  of  swampj* 
ground,  the  vegetation  and  animal  tenants  of 
the  two  being  widely  different.  Our  resi. 
dence  lay  on  the  side  of  the  city  nearest  the 
Guama,  on  the  borders  of  one  of  the  low  and 
swampy  areas  which  here  extends  over  a  por- 
tion of  the  suburbs.  The  tract  of  land  is  in- 
tersected  hy  well  macadamized  suburban 
roads,  the  chief  of  which,  Estrada  das  Mon- 
gubeiras  (the  Monguba  road),  about  a  mile 
long,  is  a  magnificent  avenue  of  silk-cotton- 
trees  (Bombax  mouguba  and  B.  ceiba),  huge 
trees  whose  trucks  taper  rapidly  from  the 
ground  upward,  and  whose  flowers  before 
opening  look  like  red  balls  studding  the 
branches.  This  fine  read  was  constructed 
under  the  governorship  of  the  Count  dos 
Arcos,  about  the  year  1812.  At  right  angles 
to  it  run  a  number  of  narrow  green  lanes, 
and  the  whole  district  is  drained  by  a  system 
of  small  canals  or  trenches  through  which, 
the  tide  ebbs  and  flows,  showing  the  lowness 
of  the  site.  Before  I  left  the  countiy,  other 
enlerprising  presidents  had  foimed  a  number 
of  avenues  lined  with  cocca-nut  palms, 
almond  and  other  trees,  in  continuation  off 
the  Moguba  road,  over  the  more  elevated  an<J 
diier  ground  to  the  north-east  of  the  city. 
On  the  high  ground  the  vegetation  has  an  as- 
pect quite  different  from  that  which  it  pre- 
sents in  the  swampy  parts.  Indeed,  with  tho 
exception  of  the  palm-trees,  the  suburbs  here 
have  an  aspect  like  that  of  a  village  green  at 
home.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and  the  open  com- 
mons are  covered  with  a  short  grassy  and 
shrubby  vegetation.  Beyond  this,  the  land 
again  descends  to  a  marshy  tract,  where,  at 
lue  bottom  of  the  moist  hollows,  the  public 
wells  are  situated.  Here  all  the  linen  of  the 
city  is  washed  by  hosts  of  noisy  nc  greases, 
and  here  also  the  water-raits  are  filled — 

niuted  hogsheads  on  wheels,  drawn  by  bul- 
;ks.  In  early  morning,  when  the  sun 
some  times  ehines  througlf  a  light  mist,  and 
everything  is  dripping  with  inoi&luie,  this 
part  of  the  city  is  full  of  life  :  vociferous 
negroes  and  wrangling  Galkgos,  the  pro- 
pi  Tetors  of  the  water-carts,  are  gathered 
about,  jabbering  continually,  and  taking  their 
morning  drums  in  dirty  \\ine-bhops  at  the 
street  cornel  s. 

Along  these  beautiful  roads  we  found  much 
to  interest  us  during  the  fiist  few  days.  Sub- 
urbs of  towns,  and  open,  sunny,  cultivated 
places  in  Brazil,  aie  tenanted  by  species  of 
animals  and  plants  \vhich  are  mostly  differ- 
ent from  thofce  of  the  dense  primeval  forests. 
I  will,  therefore,  give  an  account  of  what  we 
observed  of  the  animal  world,  during  our  ex- 
plorations in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
Para. 

The  number  and  beauty  of  the  birds  and 
insects  did  not  at  fiist  equal  our  expectation*. 


626 


THE  NATURALIST    ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


The  majority  of  the  birds  we  saw  were  small 
and  obscurely   colored  ;    they  were  indeed 
similar,  in  general  appearance,  to  such  as  are 
met  with  in  country  places  in  England.     Oc- 
casionally a  flock  of  small  paroquets,  green, 
with    a    patch  of  yellow  on  the  forehead, 
would  come  at  early  morning  to  the  trees 
near  the  Estrada.     They  would  feed  quietly, 
sometimes  chattering  in  subdued  tones,  but 
setting  up  a  harsh  scream,  and  flying  off,  on 
being   disturbed.       Humming-birds  we  did 
net  see  at  this  time,  although  1  afterward 
found  them  by  hundreds  when  certain  trees  j 
were  in  flower.     Vultures  we  only  saw  at  a 
distance,  sweeping  round  at  a  great  height, 
over  the  public  slaughter-houses.      Several 
fly-catchers,  finches,  ant-thrushes,  a  tribe  of 
plainly-colored  birds,  intermediate  in  struc- 
ture between  fly-catchers  and  thrushes,  some 
of  which  startle  the  new-comer  by  their  ex- 
traordinary notes  emitted  from  their  places 
of  concealment  in  the  dense  thickets  ;   and 
also  tanagers,  and  other  small  birds,  inhabit- 
ed the  neighborhood.     None  of  these  had  a 
pleasing  song,  except  a  little  brown  wren 
(Troglodytes  furvus),  whose  voice  and  melody 
resemble  those  of  our  English  robin.     It  is 
often  seen,  hopping  and  climbing  about  the 
walls  and  roofs  of  houses  and  on  trees  in 
their  vicinity.     Its  song  is  more  frequently 
heard  in  the  rainy  season, when  the  monguba- 
trees  shed  their  leaves.     At  those  times  the 
Estrada  das  Mongubeiras  has  an  appearance 
quite  unusual  in  a  tropical  country.      The 
tree  is  one  of  the  few  in  the  Amazons  region 
which  sheds  all  its  foliage  before  any  of  the 
new  leaf-buds  expand.    The  naked  branches, 
the  sodden  ground  matted  with  dead  leaves, 
the  gray  mist  veiling  the  surrounding  vege- 
tation, and  the  cool  atmosphere  soon  after 
sunrise,  all  combine  to  remind  one  of   au- 
tumnal mornings  in  England.     While  loiter- 
ing about  at  such  times  in  a  half-oblivious 
mood,  thinking  of  home,  the  song  of  this 
bird  would  create  for  the  moment  a  perfect 
illusion.  Numbers  of  tanagers  frequented  the 
fruit  and  other  trees  in  our  garden.     The 
two  principal  kinds  which  atti acted  our  at- 
tention were  the  Rhamphocoelus  jacapa  and 
the  Tanagra   episcopus.      The  females    of 
both  are  dull  iu  color,  but  the  male  of  Jacapa 
has  a  beautiful   velvety  purple  and  black 
plumage,  the  beak  being  paitly  white,  while 
the  same  sex  in  Episcopus  is  of  a  pale  blue 
color,   with   white  spots  on  the  wings.     In 
their  habits  they  both  resemble  the  common 
house  «parrow  of  Europe,  which  does  not  ex- 
ist in  S  Jiilh  America,  its  place  be'ng  in  some 
measure  filled   by  these   familiar    tanagers. 
They  are  just  as  li/ely,  restless,  bold,  and 
wary  ;  their  notes  are  very  similar,  chirping 
and    inharmonious,  and     they   seem    to  be 
almost  as  foiid  of  the  n  ighborhood  of  man. 
They  do  not,  however,  build  their  nests  OQ 
houses. 

Another  interesting  and  common  bird  was 
the  Japim,  a  species  of  Cassicus  (C.  icterono- 
tus).  It  belongs  to  the  same  family  of  birds 
as  our  starling,  magpie,  and  rook,  and  has  a 
rich  yellow  and  black  plumage,  remarkably 


compact  and  velvety  in  texture.  The  shape 
of  its  head  and  its  physiognomy  are  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  magpie  ;  it  has  light 
gray  eyes,  which  give  it  the  Same  knowing 
expression.  It  is  social  in  its  habits,  and 
builds  its  nest,  like  the  English  rook,  on  trees 
in  the  neighborhood  of  habitations.  But  the 
nests  are  quite  differently  constructed,  being 
shaped  like  purses,  two  feet  in  length,  and 
suspended  from  the  slender  branches  all  round 
the  tree,  some  of  them  very  near  the  ground. 
The  entrance  is  on  the  side  near  the  bottom 
of  the  nest.  The  bird  is  a  great  favorite 
with  the  Brazilians  of  Para  :  it  is  a  noisy, 
stirring,  babbling  creature,  passing  constantly 
to  and  fro,  chattering  to  its  comrades,  and  is 
very  ready  at  imitating  other  birds,  especially 
the  domestic  poultry  of  the  vicinity.  There 
was  at  one  time  a  weekly  newspaper  pub- 
lished at  Para,  called  The  Japim  ;  the  namt 
being  chosen,  I  suppose,  on  account  of  the 
babbling  propensities  of  the  bird.  Its  eggs 
are  nearly  round,  and  of  a  bluish-white  color, 
speckled  with  brown. 

Of  other  vertebrate  animals  we  saw  very 
little,  except  of  the  lizards.  They  are  sure 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  new-comer 
from  Northern  Europe,  by  reason  of  their 
strange  appearance,  great  numbers  and  vari- 
ety. The  species  which  are  seen  crawling 
over  the  walls  of  buildings  in  the  city  are 
different  from  those  found  in  the  forest  or  in 
the  interior  of  houses.  They  are  unpleasant- 
looking  animals,  with  colors  assimilated  to 
those  of  the  dilapidated  stone  and  mud  walls 
on  which  they  are  seen.  The  house  lizards 
belong  to  a  peculiar  family,  the  Geckos,  and 
are  found  even  in  the  best-kept  chambers, 
most  frequently  on  the  walls  and  ceilings,  to 
which  they  cling  motionless  by  day,  being- 
active  only  at  night.  They  are  of  speckled 
gray  or  ashy  colors.  The  structure  of  their 
feet  is  beautifully  adapted  for  clinging  to 
and  running  over  smooth  surfaces ;  the 
under  side  of  their  toes  being  expanded  into 
cushions,  beneath  which  folds  of  skin  form  a 
series  of  flexible  plates.  By  means  of  this 
appaiatus  they  can  walk  or  run  across  a 
smooth  ceiliug  with  their  backs  downward  ; 
the  plated  soles,  by  quick  muscular  action, 
exhausting  and  admitting  air  alternately. 
The  Geckos  are  very  repulsive  in  appearance. 
The  Brazilians  give  them  the  name  of  Osgas, 
and  firmly  believe  them  to  be  poisonous; 
they  are,  however,  harmless  creatures.  Those 
found  in  houses  are  small  ;  but  I  have  seen 
others  of  great  size,  in  crevices  of  tree  trunks 
in  the  forests.  Sometimes  Geckos  ate  found 
with  forked  tails  ;  this  results  from  the  bud- 
ding of  a  rudimentary  tail  at  the  side,  from 
an  injurv  done  to  the  member.  A  slight  rap 
will  cause  their  tails  to  snap  off,  the  loss 
being  afterward  partially  repaired  by  a  new 
£,TOwth.  The  tails  of  lizards  seem  to  be 
almost  useless  appendages  to  the  animals,  i 
usei  often  to  amuse  myself  in  the  suburbs, 
whi'e  resting  in  the  verandah  of  our  house 
during  the  heat  of  midday,  by  watching  the 
varityated  green,  brown,  and  yellow  ground- 
ijzarck.  They  would  come  nimbly  forward- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


and  commence  grubbing  with  their  fore  feet 
and  snouts  around  the  roots  of  herbage, search- 
ing for  insect  larvae.  On  the  slightest  alarm 
they  will  scamper  off  ;  their  tails  cocked  up  in 
the  air  as  they  waddled  awkwardly  away,  evi- 
dently an  incn ml> ranee  to  them  in  their  flight. 
Next  to  the  birds  and  lizards,  the  insects 
of  the  suburbs  of  Para  deserve  a  few  remarks. 
I  will  pass  over  the  many  other  orders  and 
families  of  this  class,  and  proceed  at  once  to 
the  ants.  These  were  in  great  numbers  every- 
where, but  I  will  mention  here  only  two 
kinds.  We  were  amazed  at  seeing  ants  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  in  length,  and  stout  in 
proportion,  marching  in  single  file  through 
the  thickets.  These  belonged  to  the  species 
called  Dinoponera  grandis.  Its  colonies  con- 
sist of  a  small  number  of  individuals,  and  are 


Sniiba  or  Leaf-carrying  Ant.— 1.  Working  minor  ; 
2.  Working-major;  3.  Subterranean  worker. 

-established  about  the  roots  of  slender  trees. 
It  is  a  stinging  species,  but  the  sting  is  not 
rso  severe  as  in  many  of  the  smaller  kinds. 
There  was  nothing  peculiar  or  attractive  in 
the  habits  of  this  giant  among  the  ants. 
Another  far  more  interesting  species  was  the 
iSaiiba  ((Ecodoma  cephalotes).  This  ant  is 
.seen  everywhere  about  the  suburbs,  march- 
ing to  and  fro  in  broad  columns.  From  its 
habit  of  despoiling  the  most  valuable  culti- 
vated trees  of  their  foliage,  it  is  a  great 
.scourge  to  the  Brazilians.  In  some  districts 
it  is  so  abundant  that  agriculture  is  almost 
impossible,  aud  everywhere  complaints  are 
heard  of  the  terrible  pest. 

The  workers  of  this  species  are  of  three 
orders,  and  vary  in  size  from  two  to  seven 
lines  ;  some  idea  of  them  may  be  obtained 
from  nlhe  accompanying  wood-cut.  The 
true  working-class  of  a  colony  is  formed 
by  the  small-sized  order  of  workers,  the 
worker-minors  as  they  are  called  (Fig.  1). 
The  two  other  kinds,  whose  functions,  as 
we  shall  see,  are  not  yet  properly  understood, 
have  enormously  swollen  aud  massive  heads  ; 
3n  one  (Fig.  2).  the  head  is  highly  polished  ; 
in  the  other  (Fig.  3),  it  is  opaque  and  hairy. 
The  worker-minors  vary  greatly  in  size,  some 
being  double  the  bulk  of  others.  The  entire 
body  is  of  very  solid  consistence,  and  of  a 
pale  reddish-brown  color.  The  thorax  or 
middle  segment  is  armed  with  three  pairs  of 
sharp  spines  ;  the  head,  also,  has  a  pair  of 
similar  epines  proceeding  from  the  cheeks 
behind. 

In  our  first  walks  we  were  puzzled  to  ac- 
count for  large  mounds  of  earth,  of  a  differ^, 


ent  color  from  the  surrounding  soil,  which 
were  thrown  up  in  the  plantations  and 
woods.  Some  of  them  were  very  extensive, 
being  forty  yards  in  circumference,  but  not 
more  than  two  feet  in  height.  We  soon 
ascertained  that  these  were  the  work  of  the 
Saiibas,  being  the  outworks,  or  domes,  which 
overlie  and  protect  the  entrances  to  their  vast 
subterranean  galleries.  On  close  examina- 
tion, I  found  the  earth  of  which  they  are 
composed  to  consist  of  very  minute  granules, 
agglomerated  without  cement,  and  forming 
many  rows  of  little  ridges  and  turrets.  The 
difference  in  color  from  the  superficial  soil  of 
the  vicinity  is  owing  to  their  being  formed 
of  the  undersoil,  brought  up  from  a  consider- 
able depth.  It  is  very  rarely  that  the  ants 
are  seen  at  work  on  these  mounds  ;  the  en- 
trances seeem  to  be  generally  closed  ;  only 
now  and  then,  when  some  particular  work  is 
going  on,  are  the  galleries  opened.  The  en- 
trances are  small  alid  numerous  ;  in  the  large 
hillocks  it  would  require  a  great  amount  of 
excavation  to  get  at  the  main  galleries  ;  but  I 
succeeded  in  removing  portions  of  the  dome 
in  smaller  hillocks,  and  then  I  found  that  the 
minor  entrances  coc verged,  at  the  depth  of 
about  two  feet,  to  one  broad  elaborately- 
worked  gallery  or  mine,  which  was  four  or 
five  inches  iu  diameter. 

This  habit  in  the  Saiiba  ant  of  clipping  and 
carrying  away  immense  quantities  of  leaves 
has  long  been  recorded  in  books  on  natural 
history.  When  employed  on  this  work,  their 
processions  look  like  a  multitude  of  animated 
leaves  on  the  march.  In  some  places  I  found 
an  accumulation  of  such  leaves,  ail  circular 
pieces,  about  the  size  of  a  sixpence,  lying 
on  the  pathway  unattended  by  ants,  and  at 
some  distance  from  any  colony.  Such  heaps 
are  always  found  to  be  removed  when  the 
place  is  revisited  the  next  day.  In  course  of 
time  I  had  plenty  of  opportunities  of  seeing 
them  at  work.  They  mount  the  tree  in  mul 
titudes,  the  individuals  being  all  worker- 
irinors.  Each  one  places  itself  on  the  sur- 
face of  a  leaf,  and  cuts  with  its  sharp  scissor- 
like  jaws  a  nearly  semicircular  incision  on 
the  upper  side  ;  it  then  takes  the  edge  be- 
tween its  jaws,  and  by  a  sharp  jerk  detaches 
the  piece.  Sometimes  they  let  the  leaf  drop 
to  the  ground,  where  a  little  hrap  accumu- 
lates, until  carried  off  by  another  relay  of 
workers  ;  but,  generally,  each  marches  off 
with  the  piece  it  has  operated  upon,  and  HS 
all  take  the  same  road  to  their  colony,  the 
path  they  follow  becomes  in  a  short  lime 
smooth  and  bare,  looking  like  the  impression 
of  a  cart-wheel  through  the  herbage. 

It  is  a  most  interesting  sight  to  see  the  vast 
host  of  busy  diminutive  laborers  occupied  on 
this  work.  Unfortunately  they  choose  cul- 
tivated trees  for  their  purpose.  This  ant  rs 
quite  peculiar  to  tropical  America,  as  is  the 
entire  genus  to  which  it  belongs  ;  it  some- 
times despoils  the  young  trees  of  species 
growing  wild  in  its  native  forests  ;  but  seems 
to  prefer,  when  within  reach,  plants  import- 
ed from  other  countries,  such  as  the  coffee 
and  orange  trees.  It  has  not  hitherto  been 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


shown  satisfactorily  lo  what  use  it  applies 
tiie  leaves.  I  discovered  this  only  after  much 
lime  spent  in  investigation.  The  leaves  are 
used  to  thatch  the  domes  which  cover  the 
entrances  to  their  subterranean  dwellings, 
thereby  protecting  from  the  deluging  rains 
the. young  broods  in  the  nests  beneath.  The 
larger  mounds,  already  described,  are  so  ex-, 
tensive  that  few  persons  would  attempt  to  re- 
move them  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
their  interior  ;  but  smaller  hillocks,  covering 
other  entrances  to  the  same  systeuffcf  tunnels 
and  chambers,  may  be  found  in  sheltered 
places,  and  these  are  always  thatched  with 
leaves,  mingled  with  granules  of  earth.  The 
heavily-laden  workers,  each  carrying  its  seg- 
ment of  leaf  vertically,  the  lower  edge  se- 
cured in  its  mandibles,  troop  up  and  cast 
their  burdens  on  the  hillock  ;  another  relay 
of  laborers  place  the  leaves  in  position,  cov- 
ering them  with  a  layer  of  earthy  granules, 
which  are  brought  one  by  one  from  the  soil 
beneath. 

The  underground  abodes  of  this  wonderful 
ant  are  known  to  be  very  extensive.  The 
Rev.  Hamlet  Clark  has  related  that  the  Saiiba, 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  a  species  closely  allied  to 
ours,  has  excavated  a  tunnel  under  the  bed 
of  the  river  Parahyba,  at  a  place  where  it  is 
as  broad  as  the  Thames  at  London  Bridge.  At 
the  Magoary  rice-mills,  near  Paia,  these  ants 
once  pierced  the  embankment  of  a  largo 
reservoir  :  the  great  body  of  water  which  it 
contained  escaped  before  the  damage  could 
be  repaired.  In  the  Botanic  Gardens,  at 
Para,  an  enterprising  French  gardener  tried 
all  he  could  think  of  to  extirpate  the  Saiiba. 
With  this  object  he  made  tires  over  some  of 
the  main  entrances  to  their  colonies,  and 
blew  the  fumes  of  sulphur  down  the  galleries 
by  means  of  bellows.  I  saw  the  smoke  issue 
from  a  great  number  of  outlets,  one  of  which 
was  seventy  yards  distant  from  the  place 
where  the  bellows  were  used.  This  shows 
how  extensively  the  underground  galleries 
are  ramified. 

Besides  injuring  and  destroying  young 
trees  by  despoiling  them  of  their  foliage,  the 
8aiiba  ant  is  troublesome  to  the  inhabitants 
from  its  habit  of  plundering  the  stores  of  pro- 
visions in  houses  at  night,  for  it  is  even  more 
active  by  night  (ban  in  the  day-time.  At  first 
I  was  inclined  to  discredit  the  stories  of  their 
entering  habitations  and  carrying  off  grain 
by  grain  the  farinha  or  mandioca  meal,  the 
bread  of  (he  poorer  classes  of  Brazil.  At 
length,  while  residing  at  an  Indian  village  on 
the  Tapajos,  I  had  ample  proof  of  the  fact. 
One  night  my  servant  woke  me  three  or  four 
hours  before  sunrise  by  calling  out  that  the 
rats  were  robbing  the  farinha  baskets  ;  the 
article  at  that  time  being  scarce  and  dear.  I 
got  up,  listened,  and  found  the  noise  was 
very  unlike  that  made  by  rats.  So  I  took  the 
light  and  went  into  the  storeroom,  which 
was  close  to  my  sleeping-place.  I  there 
found  a  broad  column  of  Saiiba  ants,  consist- 
ing of  thousands  of  individuals,  as  busy  jis 
possible,  passiui!;  to  aad  fro  ben*ceu  the  doo* 


and  my  precious  baskets.  Mast  of  tho^e* 
passing  outward  were  laden  each  with  «,  grain:; 
of  farinha,  which  was,  in  some  cases,  larger 
and  many  limes  heavier  than  the  bodies~of 
the  carriers.  Farinha  consists  of  grains  of 
similar  size  and  appearance  to  the  tapioca  of! 
our  shops  ;  both  are  products  of  the  same 
root,  tapioca  being  the  pure  starch,  and 
farinha  the  starch  mixed  with  woody  fibre, 
the  latter  ingredient  giving  it  a  yellowish 
color.  It  was  amusing  to  see  some  of  tha 
dwarfs,  the  smallest  members  of  their  family, 
staggering  along,  completely  hidden  under 
their  load.  The  baskets,  which  were  on  a 
high  table,  were  entirely  covered  with  anls, 
many  hundreds  of  whom  were  employed  ia 
snipping  the  dry  leaves  which  served  as  lin- 
ing. 1  iiis  produce  the  rustling  sound  which 
had  at  first  disturbed  us.  My  servant  told, 
me  that  they  would  carry  off  the  whole  con- 
tents of  the  two  baskets  (about  two  bushels) 
in  the  c./urse  of  the  night,  if  they  were  not 
driven  oft'  ;  so  we  tried  to  exterminate  them, 
by  killing  them  with  our  wooden  clogs.  It 
was  impossible,  however,  to  prevent  fresh 
hosts  coming  in  as  fast  as  we  killed  their 
companions.  They  returned  the  next  night  ; 
and  I  was  then  obliged  to  lay  trains  of  gun- 
powder  along  their  line,  and  blow  them  up. 
This,  repeated  many  times,  at  last  seemed  ta 
intimidate  them,  for  we  were  free  from  their 
visits  during  the  remainder  of  my  residence 
at  the  place.  What  they  did  with  the  hard 
dry  grains  of  mandioca  I  was  never  able  to 
ascertain,  and  cannot  even  conjecture.  The 
meal  contains  no  gluten,  and  therefore  would 
be  useless  as  cement.  It  contains  only  a 
small  relative  portion  of  starch,  and,  when 
mixeo  with  water,  it  separates  and  falls  away 
like  so  much  earthy  matter.  It  may  serve: 
as  food  for  the  subterranean  workers.  But. 
the  young  or  \anad  of  ants  are  usually  fed  by 
juices  secreted  by  the  worker  nurses. 

Ants,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe, 
consist,  in  each  species,  of  three  sets  of  indi- 
viduals, or,  as  some  express  it,  of  three  sexes 
— uamety,  mules,  females,  and  workers  ;  the 
last-mentioned  being  undeveloped  females. 
The  pei feet  sexes  are  winged  on  their  first 
attaining  the  adult  state  ;  they  alone  propa- 
gate their  kind,  flying  away,  previous  to  the 
act  of  reproduction,  from  the  nest  in  which 
they  have  been  reared.  This  winged  slate 
of  the  perfect  ma'es  and  females,  and  the 
habit  of  flying  abroad  before  pairing,  are  very 
important  paints  in  the  economy  of  ants  ; 
for  they  are  thus  enabled  to  intercross  with 
members  of  distant  colonies  which  swarm  at . 
the  same  time,  and  thereby  increase  the  vigor 
of  the  race,  a  proceeding  essential  to  the  pros- 
perity of  any  species.  In  many  ants,  espe- 
cially those  of  tropical  climates,  the  workers, 
again,  are  of  two  classes,  whose  structure  • 
and  functions  are  widely  different.  In  some 
species  they  are  wonderfully  unlike  each 
other,  and  constitute  two  well-di  fined  forms  . 
of  workers.  In  ethers,  there  is  a  gradation 
.  f  individuals  between  the  two  extremes. 
The  curious  differences  in  structure  and. 


NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


62ft 


« habits  between  these  two  classes  form  an  in- 
teresting but  very  difficult  study.  It  is  one 
of  the  great  p(  culiarities  of  the  Saiiba  ant  to 
possess  three  classes  of  workers.  My  inves- 
tigations regarding  them  were  far  from  com- 
plete ;  I  will  relate,  however,  what  I  have 
observed  on  the  subject. 

When  engaged  in  leaf-cutting,  plundering 
farinha,  and  other  operations,  two  classes  of 
^workers  are  always  seen  (Figs.  1  and  2, 
page  3).  They  are  not,  it  is  true,  very 
sharply  defined  in  structure,  for  individuals 
of  intermediate  grades  occur.  All  the  woik, 
however,  is  done  by  the  individuals  which 
have  small  heads  (Fig.  1),  while  those  which 
have  enormously  large  heads,  the  worker- 
majors  (Fig.  2)%are  observed  to  be  simply 
walking  about.  I  could  never  satisfy  myself 
as  to  the  function  of  these  worker-majors. 
They  are  not  the  soldiers  or  defenders  of1  the 
working  portion  of  the  community,  like  the 
armed  class  in  the  Termites,  or  white  ants  ; 
for  they  never  fight.  The  species  has  no 
sting,  and  does  not  display  active  resistance 
when  interfered  with.  I  once  imagined  they 
exercised  a  sort  of  superintendence  over  the 
-others  ;  but  this  function  is  entirely  unneces- 
sary in  a  community  where  all  work  with  a 
precision  and  regularity  resembling  the  sub- 
ordinate parts  of  a  piece  of  machinery.  I 
came  to  the  conclusion,  at  last,  that  they 
huve  no  very  precisely  defined  function. 
'  They  cannot,  however,  be  entirely  useless  to 
the  community,  for  the  sustenance  of  an  idle 
class  of  such  bulky  individuals  would  be  too 
heavy  a  charge  for  the  species  to  sustain.  I 
think  they  serve,  in  some  sort,  as  passive  in- 
:  struments  of  protection  to  the  real  workers. 
Their  enormously  large,  hard,  and  indestruc- 
tible heads  may  be  of  use  in  protecting  them 
tigainst  the  attacks  of  insectivorous  animals. 
They  would  be,  on  this  view,  a  kind  ol 
"pieces  de  resistance,"  serving  as  a  foil 
against  onslaughts  made  on  the  main  body  of 
workers. 

The  third  order  of  workers  is  the  most 
curious  of  all.  If  the  top  of  a  small  fresh 
.hillock,  one  in  which  the  thatching  process 
is  going  on,  be  taken  off,  a  broad  cylindrical 
shaft  is  disclosed,  at  a  depth  of  about  two 
feet  from  the  surface.  If  this  be  probed  with 
a  stick,  which  may  be  done  to  the  extent  of 
1hree  or  four  feet  without  touching  bottom, 
a  small  number  of  colossal  fellows  (Fig.  3) 
^will  slowly  begin  to  make  their  way  up  the 
smooth  sides  of  the  mine.  Their  heads  are 
of  the  same  size  as  those  of  the  class  Fig.  2  ; 
but  the  front  is  clolhed  with  hairs,  instead  of 
being  polished,  and  they  have  in  the  middle 
of  the  forehead  a  twin  ocellus,  or  simple  eye, 
of  quite  different  structure  from  the  ordinary 
C"mpound  eyes  on  the  sides  of  the  head. 
This  frontal  eye  is  totally  wanting  in  the 
^tiier  workers,  and  is  not  known  in  any  other 
kind  of  ant.  The  apparition  of  these  strange 
creatures  from  the  cavernous  depths  of  the 
mine  reminded  me,  when  I  first  observed 
them,  of  the  Cyclopes  of  Homeric  fable. 
They  were  not  very  pugnacious,  as  I  feared 
they  would  be,  and  I  had  no  difflculty__in 


^securing  a  few  with  my  fingers.  I  never  saw 
them  under  any  other  circumstances  than 
those  here  related,  and  what  their  special 
functions  may  be  I  cannot  divine. 

The  whole  arrangement  of  a  Formicarium, 
or  ant-colony,  and  all  the  varied  activity  of 
ant-life,  are  directed  to  one  main  purpose — 
the  perpetuation  and  dissemination  of  the 
species.  Most  of  the  labor  which  we  see  per- 
formed by  the  workers  has  for  its  end  the 
sustenance  and  welfare  of  the  young  brood, 
which  are  helpless  grubs.  The  true  females 
are  incapable  of  attending  to  the  wants  of 
their  offspring  ;  and  it  is  on  the  poor  sterile 
workers,  who  are- denied  all  the  other  pleas- 
ures of  maternity,  that  the  entire  care  de- 
volves. The  workers  are  also  the  chief  agents 
in  carrying  out  the  different  migrations  of 
the  colonies,  which  are  of  vast  importance  to 
the  dispersal  and  consequent  prosperity  of 
the  species.  The  successful  debut  of  the 
winged  males  and  females  depends  likewise 
on  the  workers.  It  is  amusing  to  see  the  ac- 
tivity and  excitement  which  reign  in  an  ant's 
nest  when  the  exodus  of  the*  winged  individ- 
uals is  taking  place.  The  workers  clear  ths 
roads  of  exit,  and  show  the  most  lively  inter- 
est in  their  departure,  although  it  is  highly 
improbable  that  any  of  them  will  return  to 
the  same  colony.  The  swarming  or  exodus 
of  the  winged  males  and  females  of  the  Saiiba 
ant  takes  place  in  January  and  February,  that 
is,  at  the  commencement  of  the  rainy  sea- 
son. They  come  out  in  the  evening  in  vast 
numbers,  causing  qu:te  a  commotion  in  the 
streets  and  lanes.  They  are  of  very  large 
size,  the  female  measuring  no  less  than  two 
inches  and  a  quarter  in  expanse  of  wing  ; 
the  male  is  not  much  more  than  half  this  size. 
They  are  so  eagerly  preyed  upon  by  insectiv- 
orous animals  that  on  the  morning  after  their 
flight  not  an  individual  is  to  be  seen,  a  few 
impregnated  females  alone  escaping  the 
slaughter  to  found  new  colonies. 

At  the  time  of  our  arrival,  Para  had  not 
quite  recovered  from  the  effects  of  a  series  of 
revolutions,  brought  about  by  the  hatred 
which  existed  between  the  native  Brazilians 
and  the  Portuguese  ;  the  former,  in  the  end, 
calling  to  their  aid  the  Indian  and  mixed  col- 
ored population.  The  number  of  inhabitants 
of  the  city  had  decreased,  in  consequence  of 
these  disorders,  from  24,500  in  1819,  to  15,- 
000  in  1848.  Although  the  public  peace  had 
not  been  broken  for  twelve  years  before  the 
date  of  our  visit,  confidence  was  not  yet 
completely  restored,  and  the  Portuguese 
merchants  and  tradesmen  would  not  trust 
themselves  to  live  at  their  beautiful  country- 
houses  or  rocinhas,  which  lie  embosomed  in 
the  luxuriant  shady  gardens  around  the  city. 
No  progress  had  been  made  in  clearing  the 
second  growth  forest,  which  had  grown  over 
the  once  cultivated  grounds  and  now  reached 
the  end  of  all  the  suburban  streets.  The 
place  had  the  aspect  of  one  which  had  seen 
better  days  ;  the  public  buildings,  including 
the  palaces  of  the  President  and  Bishop,  the 
cathedral,  the  principal  churches  and  con- 
ventsi  all  seemed  constructed  on  u  scale  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


grandeur  far  beyond  the  present  require- 
ments of  the  city.  Streets  full  of  extensive 
private  residences,  built  in  the  Italian  style 
of  architecture,  were  in  a  neglected  condition, 
weeds  and  flourishing  young  trees  growing 
from  large  cracks  in  the  masonry.  The  large 
public  squares  were  overgrown  with  weeds, 
and  impassable  on  account  of  the  swampy 
places  which  occupied  portions  of  their  areas. 
Commerce,  however,  was  now  beginning  to 
revive,  and  before  I  left  the  country  I  saw 
great  improvements,  as  I  shall  have  to  relate 
toward  the  conclusion  of  this  narrative. 

The  province  of  which  Para  is  the  capital 
was,  at  the  time  I  allude  to,  the  most  exten- 
sive in  the  Brazilian  Empire,  being  about 
1560  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west,  and 
about  600  in  breadth.  Since  that  date — 
namely,  in  1853 — it  has  been  divided  into 
two  by  the  separation  of  the  Upper  Amazons 
as  a  distinct  province.  It  formerly  consti- 
tuted a  section,  capitania,  or  governorship 
of  the  Portuguese  colony.  Originally  it  was 
well  peopled  by  Indians,  varying  much  in 
social  condition  according  to  their  tribe,  but 
all  exhibiting  the  same  general  physical  char- 
acters, which  are  those  of  the  American  red 
man,  somewhat  modified  by  long  residence 
in  an  equatorial  forest  country.  Most  of 
the  tribes  are  now  extinct  or  forgotten,  at 
least  those  which  originally  peopled  the 
banks  of  the  main  river,  their  descendants 
having  amalgamated  with  the  white  and 
negro  immigrants  ;  *  many  still  exist,  how- 
ever, in  their  original  state  011  the  Upper  Am- 
azons and  most  of  the  branch  rivers.  On 
this  account  Indians  in  this  province  are  far 
more  numerous  than  else w  here  in  Brazil, 
and  the  Indian  element  may  be  said  to  pre- 
vail in  the  mongrel  population,  the  negro 
proportion  being  much  smaller  than  in  South 
Brazil. 

The  city  is  built  on  the  best  available  site 
for  a  port  of  entry  to  the  Amazons  region, 
and  must  in  time  become  a  vast  emporium  ; 
for  the  northern  shore  of  the  main  river, 
where  alone  a  rival  capital  could  be  founded, 
is  much  more  difficult  of  access  to  vessels, 
and  is  besides  extremely  unhealthy.  Al- 
though lying  so  near  the  equator  (1°  28'  S. 
lat.)  the  climate  is  not  excessively  hot.  The 
temperature  during  three  years  only  once 
reached  95°  of  Fahrenheit.  The  greatest 
heat  of  the  day,  about  2  P.M.,  ranges  generally 
between  89°  and  94°  ;  but  on  the  other  hand, 
the  air  is  never  cooler  than  73°,  so  that  a  uni- 
formly high  temperature  exists,  and  the 
mean  of  the  year  is  81°.  North  American 
residents  say  that  the  heat  is  not  so  oppress-. 

*  The  mixed  breeds  which  now  form,  probably,  the 
greater  part  of  the  population  have  each  a  distinguish- 
ing name.  Mameluco  denotes  the  offspring  of  White 
with  Indian  ;  Mulatto,  that  of  White  with  Negro ; 
Cafuzo,  the  mixture  of  the  Indian  and  Negro  ;  Curi- 
boco,  the  cross  between  the  Cafuzo  and  the  Indian ; 
Xibaro,  that  between  the  Cafuzo  and  Negro.  These 
are  seldom,  however,  well-demarcated,  and  all  shades 
of  color  exist ;  the  names  are  generally  applied  only 
approximative^.  The  term  Creole  is  confined  to 
negroes  born  in  the  country.  The  civilized  Indian  is 
called  Tapuyo  or  Caboclo. 


ive  as  it  is  in  summer  in  New  York 
Philadelphia.  The  humidity  is,  of  course,, 
excessive,  but  the  rains  are  not  so  heavy  antl 
continuous  in  the  wet  season  as  in  many  other- 
tropical  climates.  The  country  had  for  a. 
long  time  a  reputation  for  extreme  salubrity. 
Since  the  small-pox  in  1819,  which  attacked 
chiefly  the  Indians,  no  serious  epidemic  had. 
visited  the  province.  We  were  agreeably 
surprised  to  find  no  danger  from  exposure 
to  the  night  air  or  residence  in  the  low 
swampy  lands.  A  few  English  residents, 
who  had  been  established  here  for  twenty  or 
thirty  years,  looked  almost  as  fresh  in  color 
as  if  they  had  never  left  their  native  country. 
The  native  women,  too,  seemed  to  preserve 
their  good  looks  and  plump  condition  untik. 
late  in  life.  I  nowhere  observed  that  early- 
decay  of  appearance  in  Brazilian  ladies, 
which  is  said  to  be  so  general  in  the  women 
of  North  America.  Up  to  1848  the  salubrity- 
of  Para  was  quite  remarkable  for  a  city  lying: 
in  the  delta  of  a  great  river  in  the  middle  of 
the  tropics  and  half  surrounded  by  swamps. 
It  did  not  much  longer  enjoy  its  immunity 
from  epidemics.  In  1850  the  yellow  fever 
visited  the  province  for  the  first  time,  and 
carried  off  in  a  few  weeks  more  than  four 
per  cent  of  the  population. 

The  province  of  Para,  or  as  we  may  now 
say,  the  two  provinces  of  Para  and  the  Am- 
azous,  contain  an  area  of  800,000  square 
miles,  the  population  of  which  is  only  about 
230,000,  or  in  the  ratio  of  one  person  to  four 
square  miles  !  The  country  is  covered  with 
forests,  and  the  soil  fertile  in  the  extreme, 
even  for  a  tropical  country.  It  is  intersected, 
throughout  by  broad  and  deep  navigable  riv- 
ers. It  is  the  pride  of  the  Paraenses  to  call 
the  Amazons  the  Mediterranean  of  South. 
America.  The  colossal  stream  perhaps  de- 
serves the  name,  for  not  only  have  the  main 
river  and  its  principal  tributaries  an  immense- 
expanse  of  water,  bathing  the  shores  of  ex- 
tensive and  varied  regions,  but  there  is  also- 
throughout  a  system  of  back  channels,  con- 
nected with  the  main  rivers  by  narrow  out- 
lets, and  linking  together  a  series  of  lakes, 
some  of  which  are  fifteen,  twenty,  and  thirty 
miles  in  length.  The  whole  Amazons  valley 
is  thus  covered  by  a  network  of  navigable 
waters,  forming  a  vast  inland  fresh- water  sea. 
with  endless  ramifications,  rather  than  a* 
river. 

I  resided  at  Para  nearly  a  year  and  a  hal  f  al- 
together, i  eturning  thither  and  making  a  stay 
of  a  few  months  after  each  of  my  shorter  ex- 
cursions into  the  interior  ;  until  the  f>th  of 
November,  1851,  when  I  started  on  my  long- 
voyage  to  the  Tapajos  and  the  Upper  Ama- 
zons, which  occupied  me  seven  years  and  a, 
half. 

CHAPTER    II. 

PARA. 

The  swampy  forests  of  Para— A  Portuguese  landed 
proprietor— Country  house  at  Nazareth— Life  of  a. 
Naturalist  under  the  equator— The  drier  virgin  for- 
ests—Magoary— Retired  creeks— Aborigines. 

.AFTER  having  resided  about  a  fortnight  at, 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


631 


3Vfr.  Miller's  rocinha,  we  heard  of  another 
similar  country-house  to  be  let,  much  better 
situated  for  our  purpose,  in  the  village  of 
Nazareth,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city, 
and  close  to  the  forest.  The  owner  was  an 
old  Portuguese  gentleman  named  Danin,  who 
lived  at  his  tile  manufactory  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Una,  a  small  river  lying:  two  miles  below 
Para.  We  resolved  to  walk  to  his  place 
through  the  forest,  a  distance  of  three  miles, 
although  the  road  was  said  to  be  scarcely 
passable  at  this  season  of  the  year,  and  the 
Una  much  more  easily  accessible  by  boat. 
We  were  glad,  however,  of  this  early  oppor- 
tunity of  traversing  the  rich  swampy  forest, 
which  we  had  admired  so  much  from  the 
deck  of  the  ship  ;  so,  about  eleven  o'clock 
-one  sunny  morning,  after  procuring  the 
necessary  information  about  the  road,  we  set 
off  in  that  direction.  This  part  of  the  forest 
afterward  became  one  of  my  best  hunting- 
grounds.  I  will  narrate  the  incidents  of  the 
walk,  giving  my  first  impressions  and  some 
remarks  on  the  wonderful  vegetation.  The 
forest  is  very  similar  on  most  of  the  low 
lands,  and  therefore  one  description  will  do 
for  all. 

On  leaving  the  town,  we  walked  along  a 
straight  suburban  road,  constructed  above 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  land.  It  had 
low  swampy  ground  on  each  side,  built  upon, 
however,  and  containing  several  spacious 
rocinhas,  which  were  embowered  in  magnifi- 
cent foliage.  Leaving  the  last  of  these,  we 
arrived  at  a  part  where  the  lofty  forest  tow- 
ered up  like  a  wall,  five  or  six  yards  from  the 
edge  of  the  path,  to  the  height  of,  probably, 
100  feet.  The  tree  trunks  were  only  seen 
partially  here  and  there,  nearly  the  'whole 
frontage  from  ground  to  summit  being  cov- 
ered with  a  diversified  draper}'  of  creeping 
plants,  all  of  the  most  vivid  shades  of  green  ; 
scarcely  a  flower  to  be  seen,  except  in  some 
places  a  solitary  scarlet  passion-flower,  set  in 
the  green  mantle  like  a  star.  The  low 
ground  on  the  borders,  between  the  forest 
wall  and  the  road,  was  incumbered  with  a 
tangled  mass  of  bushy  and  shrubby  vegeta- 
tion, among  which  prickly  mimosas  were 
Very  numerous,  covering  the  other  bushes  in 
the  same  way  as  brambles  do  in  England. 
Oilier  dwarf  mimosas  trailed  along  the 
pound  close  to  the  edge  of  the  road,  shrink- 
ing at  the  slightest  touch  of  the  feet  as  we 
j.>  tssed  by.  Cassia-trees,  witii  their  elegant 
pinnate  foliage  and  conspicuous  yellow  flow- 
ers, formed  a  great  proportion  of  the  lower 
liees,  and  arborescent  aruns  grew  in  groups 
around  the  swampy  hollows.  Over  the 
whole  fluttered  a  larger  number  of  brilliantly- 
colored  butterflies  than  we  had  yet  seen  ; 
some  wholly  orange  or  yellow  (Callidryas), 
others  with  excessively  elongated  wings,  sail- 
ing horizontally  through  the  air,  colored 
black,  and  varied  with  blue,  red,  and  yellow 
(Heliconii).  One  magnificent  grassy-green 
species  (Colsenis  Dido)  especially  attracted 
our  attention.  Near  the  ground  hovered 
many  other  smaller  species  very  similar  in 
appearance  to  those  found  at  home,  attracted. 


by  the  flowers  of  numerous  leguminous  and 
other  shrubs.  Besides  butterflies,  there  were 
few  other  insects  except  dragon-flies,  which 
were  in  great  numbers,  similar  in  shape  to 
English  species,  but  some  of  them  looking 
conspicuously  diffeient  on  account  of  their 
fiery  red  colors. 

After  stopping  a  long  time  to  examine  and 
admire,  we  at  length  walked  onward.  The 
road  then  ascended  slightly,  and  the  soil  and 
vegetation  became  suddenly  altered  in  char- 
acter. The  shrubs  here  were  grasses,  low 
sedges  and  other  plants,  smaller  in  foliage 
than  those  growing  in  moist  grounds.  The 
forest  was  second  growth,  low,  consisting  of 
trees  which  had  the  general  aspect  of  laurels 
and  other  evergreens  in  our  gardens  at 
home  :  the  leaves  glossy  and  dark  green. 
Some  of  them  were  elegantly  veined  and 
hairy  (MelastomiB),  while  many,  scattered 
among  the  rest,  had  smaller  foliage  (Myrtles). 
but  these  were  not  sufficient  to  subtract  much 
£rom  the  general  character  of  the  whole. 

The  sun  now,  for  we  had  loitered  long  on. 
the  road,  was  exceedingly  powerful.  The 
day  was  most  brilliant  ;  the  sky  without  a 
cloud.  In  fact  it  was  one  of  those  glorious 
days  which  announce  the  commencement  of 
the  dry  season.  The  radiation  of  heat  .from 
the  sandy  ground  was  visible  by  the  quiver- 
ing motion  of  the  air  above  it.  We  saw  or 
heard  no  mammals  or  birds  ;  a  few  cattle 
belonging  to  an  estate  down  a  shady  lane 
were  congregated,  panting,  under  a  cluster 
of  wide-spreading  trees.  The  very  soil  was 
hot  to  our  feet,  and  we  hastened  onward  to 
the  shade  of  the  forest,  which  we  could  see 
not  far  ahead.  At  "length,  on  entering  it,  what 
a  relief  !  We  found  ourselves  in  a  moder- 
ately broad  pathway  or  alley,  where  the 
branches  of  the  trees  crossed  overhead  and 
produced  a  delightful  shade.  The  woods 
were  at  first  of  recent  growth,  dense,  and 
utterly  impenetrable  ;  the  ground,  instead  of 
being  clothed  with  grass  and  shrubs  as  in  the 
woods  of  Europe,  was  everywhere  carpeted 
with  Lycopodiums  (fern-shaped  mosses). 
Gradually  the  scene  became  changed.  We 
descended  slightly  from  an  elevated,  dry,  and 
sandy  area  to  a  low  and  swampy  one  ;  a  cool 
air  breathed  on  our  faces,  and  a  mouldy 
smell  of  rotting  vegetation  greeted  us.  The 
trees  were  now  taller,  the  underwood  less 
dense,  and  we  could  obtain  glimpses  into  the 
wilderness  on  all  sides.  The  leafy  crowns  of 
the  trees,  scarcely  two  of  which  could  be  seen 
together  of  the  same  kind,  were  now  far 
away  above  us,  in  another  world  as  it  were. 
We  could  only  see  at  times,  where  there  was 
a  break  above,  the  tracery  of  the  foliage 
against  the  clear  blue  sky.  Sometimes  the 
leaves  were  palmate,  or  of  the  shape  of  large 
outstretched  hands  ;  at  others,  finely  cut  or 
feathery,  like  the  leaves  of  Mimosse.  Below, 
the  tree-trunks  were  everywhere  linked  to- 
gether by  sip6s  ;  the  woody  flexible  stems 
of  climbing  and  creeping  trees,  whose  foliage 
is  far  away  above,  mingled  with  that  of  the 
taller  independent  trees.  Some  were  twisted 
Hi  strands  like  cables,  others  had  thick  stems 


632 


THE  NATURALIST  O^.  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


contorted  in  every  variety  of  shape,  entwin- 
ing snake-like  round  the  tree  trunks,  or  form- 
ing gigantic  loops  and  coils  among  the  larger 
branches ;  others,  again,  were  of  zigzag 
shape,  or  indented  like  the  steps  of  a  stair- 
case, sweeping  from  the  ground  to  a  giddy 
height. 

It  interested  me  much  afterward  to  find 
that  these  climbing  trees  do  not  form  any 
particular  family.  There  is  no  distinct  group 
of  plants  whose  especial  habit  is  to  climb, 
but  species  of  many  and  the  most  diverse 
families,  the  bulk  of  whose  members  are 
not  climbers,  seem  to  have  been  driven 
by  circumstances  to  adopt  this  habit. 
There  is  even  a  climbing  genus  of  palms 
(Desmoncus),  the  species  of  which  are  call- 
ed, in  the  Tupi  language,  Jacitara.  These 
have  slender,  thickly-spined,  and  flexuous 
stems,  which  twine  about  the  taller  trees  from 
one  to  the  other,  and  grow  to  an  incredible 
length.  The  leaves,  which  have  the  ordinary 
pinnate  shape  characteristic  of  the  family, 
are  emitted  from  the  stems  at  long  intervals, 
instead  of  being  collected  into  a  dense  crown, 
and  have  at  their  tips  a  number  of  long  re- 
curved spines.  These  structures  are  excel- 
lent contrivances  to  enable  the  trees  to  secure 
themselves  by  in  climbing,  but  they  are  a 
great  nuisance  to  the  travei.er,  for  they  some 
times  hang  over  the  pathway,  and  catch  the 
hat  or  clothes,  dragging  off  the  one  or  tear- 
ing the  other  as  he  passes.  The  number  and 
variety  of  climbing  trees  in  the  Amazons 
forests  are  interesting  taken  in  connection 
with  the  fact  of  the  very  general  tendency  of 
the  animals  also  to  become  dimbers. 

All  the  Amazonian,  and  in  fact  all  South 
American,  monkeys  are  climbers.  There  is 
no  group  answering  to  the  baboons  of  the 
Old  World,  which  live  on  the  ground.  The 
Gallinaceous  birds  of  the  country,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  fowls  and  pheasants  of  Asia 
and  Africa,  are  all  adapted  by  the  position 
of  the  toes  to  perch  on  trees,  and  it  is  only 
on  trees,  at  a  great  height,  that  they  are  to 
be  seen.  A  genus  of  Plantigrade  Carnivora, 
allied  to  the  bears  (Cercoleptes),  found  only 
in  the  Amazonian  forests,  is  entirely  arboreal, 
and  has  a  tong  flexible  tail  like  that  of  certain 
monkeys.  Many  other  similar  instances 
could  be  enumerated,  but  I  will  mention  only 
the  Geodephaga,  or  carnivorous  ground 
beetles,  a  great  proportion  of  whose  genera 
and  species  in  these  forest  regions  are,  by  the 
structure  of  their  feet.fitted  to  live  exclusively 
on  the  branches  and  leaves  of  trees. 

Many  of  the  woody  lianas  suspended  from 
trees  are  not  climbers,  but  the  air-roots  of 
epiphytous  plants  (Aroidese),  which  sit  on  the 
stronger  boughs  of  the  trees  above,  and  hang 
down  straight  as  plumb-lines.  Some  are  sus- 
pended singly,  others  in  clusters  ;  some  reach 
half  way  to  the  ground  and  others  touch  it, 
striking  their  rootlets  into  the  earth.  The 
underwood  in  this  part  of  the  forest  was  com- 
posed partly  of  younger  trees  of  the  same 
species  as  their  taller  neighbors,  and  partly  of 
palms  of  many  species,  some  of  them  twenty 
to  thirty  feet  'n  height,  others  small  and  del- 


icate, with  stems  no  thicker  than  a  finger. 
These  latter  (different  kinds  of  ^actris)  bore- 
small  bunches  of  fruit,  red  or  black,  often 
containing  a  sweet  grape-like  juice. 

Further  on  the  ground  became  more 
swampy,  and  we  had  some  difficulty  in  pick- 
ing our  way.  The  wild  banana  (Urania  Am- 
azonica)  heie  began  to  appear,  and,  as  it  grew 
in  masses,  imparted  a  new  aspect  to  the  scene. 
The  leaves  of  this  beautiful  plant  are  like 
broad  sword- blades,  eight  feet  in  length  arid 
a  foot  broad  ;  they  rise  straight  upward,  al- 
ternately, from  the  top  of  a  stem  five  or  six 
feet  high.  Numerous  kinds  of  plants  with 
leaves  similar  in  shape  to  these,  but  smaller, 
clothed  the  ground.  Among  them  were  spe- 
cies of  Marantacese,  some  of  which  had  broad 
glossy  leaves,  with  long  leaf-stalks  radiating 
from  joints  in  a  reed-like  stem.  The  trunks 
of  the  trees  were  clothed  with  climbing  ferns, 
and  Pothos  plants  with  large,  fleshy,  heait- 
shaped  leaves.  Bamboos  and  other  tall. grass 
and  reed-like  plants  arched  over  the  path  way. 
The  appearance  of  this  part  of  the  fore'st 
was  strange  in  the  extreme  ;  description  can- 
convey  no  adequate  idea  of  it.  The  reader 
who  has  visited  Kew  may  form  some  notion 
by  conceiving  a  vegetation  like  that  in  the 
great  palm-house  spread  over  a  large  tract 
of  swampy  ground,  but  he  must  fancy  it 
mingled  with  Jarge  exogenous  trees  similar  to: 
our  oaks  and  elms  covered  with  creepers  and 
parasites,  and  figure  to  himself  the  ground 
incumbered  with  fallen  and  rotten  trunks, 
branches,  and  leaves  ;  the  whole  illuminate  I 
by  a  glowing  vertical  sun,  and  reeking  with, 
moisture. 

We  at  length  emerged  from  the  forest,  or*, 
the  banks  of  the  Una,  near  its  mouth.  It 
was  here  about  one  hundred  yards  wide.  T he- 
residence  of  Senbor  Danin  stood  on  the  op- 
posite shore  ;  a  large  building,  whitewashed 
and  red-tiled  as  usual,  raised  on  wooden  piles- 
above  the  humid  ground.  The  second  story 
was  the  part  occupied  by  the  family,  and 
along  it  was  an  open  veranda,  where  people, 
male  and  female,  were  at  work.  Below  were- 
several  negroes  employed  carrying  clay  oa 
their  heads.  We  called  out  for  a  boat,  and 
one  of  them  crossed  over  to  fetch  us^ 
Senhor  Danin  received  us  with  the  usual  for- 
mal politeness  of  the  Portuguese  ;  he  spoke- 
English  very  well,  and  after  wehadarraiged 
our  business  we  remained  conversing  wit  Ik 
him  on  various  subjects4  connected  with  the; 
country.  Like  all  employers  in  this  prov- 
ince, he  was  full  of  one  topic — the  scarcity 
of  hands.  It  appeared  that  he  had  made 
great  exertions  to  introduce  white  labor,  but 
had  failed,  after  having  brought  numbers  of 
men  from  Portugal  and  other  countries  un- 
der engagement  to  work  for  him.  They  alt 
left  him  one  by  one  soon  after  their  arrival. 
The  abundance  of  unoccupied  laud,  the  lib- 
erty that  exists,  a  state  of  things  produced 
by  the  half-wild  canoe-life  of  the  people,  and 
the  ease  with  which  a  mere  subsistence  can. 
be  obtained  with  moderate  work,  tempt  everi 
the  best-disposed  to  quit  regular  labor  as 
soon  as  they  can. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZOJNo. 


Shortly  afterward  we  took  possession  of 
<*«r  new  residence.  The  house  was  a  square 
building,  consisting  of  four  equal  -  sized 
looms  ;  the  tiled  roof  projected  all  round,  so 
as  to  form  a  broad  veranda,  cool  and  pleas- 
ant to  sit  and  work  in.  The  cultivated 
giouiid,  which  appeared  as  if  newly  chared 
from  the  forest,  was  planted  with  fruit  trees 
and  small  plots  of  coffee  and  mandi  ca.  The 
entrance  to  the  grounds  was  by  an  iron-grille 
.gateway  from  a  grassy  square,  around  which 
were  built  the  few  houses  and  palm-thatched 
huts  which  then  constituted  the  village.  The 
most,  important  building  was  the  chapel  of 
our  Lady  of  Nazareth,  wnich  stood  opposite 
-our  place.  The  saint  here  enshiined  was  a 
threat  favorite  with  all  orthodox  Paraenses, 
who  attributed  to  her  the  performance  of 
many  miracles.  The  image  was  to  be  seen 
on  the  altar,  a  handsome  doll  about  four  feet 
high,  wearing  a  silver  crown  and  a  garment 
of  blue  silk  studded  with  golden  stars.  In 
and  about  the  chapel  were  the  offerings  that 
had  been  made  to  her,  proofs  of  the  miracles 
which  she  had  performed.  There  were  models 
of  legs,  arms,  breasts,  and  so  forth,  which 
she  had  cured.  But  most  curious  of  all  was 
a  ship's  boat,  deposited  here  by  the  crew  of 
&  Portuguese  vessel  which  had  foundered,  a 
year  or  two  before  our  arrival,  in  a  squall  off 
Cayenne  ;  part  of  them  having  been  saved  in 
the  boat,  after  invoking  the  protection  of  the 
saint  here  enshrined  The  annual  festival  in 
honor  of  our  Lady  of  Nazareth  is  the  great- 
est of  the  Para  holidays  ;  many  persons  come 
to  it  from  the  neighboring  city  of  Maran- 
ham,  300  miles  distant.  Once  the  Piesident 
ordered  the  mail  steamer  to  be  delayed  two 
days  at  Para  for  the  convenience  of  these 
visitors.  The  popularity  of  the  festa  is  partly 
owing  to  the  beautiful  weather  that  pre- 
vails when  it  takes  place,  namely,  in 
the  middle  of  the  fine  season,  on  the  ten 
days  preceding  the  full  moon  in  October 
or  November.  Para  is  then  seen  at  its  best. 
The  weather  is  not  too  dry,  for  three  weeks 
Tjever  follow  in  succession  without  a  shower  : 
so  that  all  the  glory  of  verdure  and  flowers 
can  be  enjoyed  with  clear  skies.  The  moon 
lit  nights  are  then  especially  beautiful  ;  the 
atmosphere  is  transparently  clear,  and  the 
light  sea  breeze  produces  an  agreeable  cool- 
in  ss. 

We  now  settled  ourselves  for  a  few  ninths' 
regular  work.  We  had  the  forest  on  three 
sides  of  us  ;  it  wae  the  end  of  the  wet  sea- 
son ;  most  species  of  birds  had  finished 
moulting,  and  every  day  the  insects  increased 
in  number  and  variety.  Behind  therociuha, 
after  several  days'  exploration,  I  found  a 
series  of  pathways  through  the  woods,  which 
Jed  to  the  Una  road ;  about  half  way  was 
the  house  in  which  the  celebrated  travellers 
Spix  and  Martius  resided  during  their  stay  at 
Para,  in  1819.  It  was  now  in  a  neglected 
condition,  and  the  plantations  were  over- 
grown with  hushes.  The  paths  hereabout 
were  very  productive  uf  insects,  and  being 
entirely  under  shade  were  very  pleasant  for 
strolling.  Close  to  the  doors  began  the  main 


forest  load.  It  was  broad  enough  for  two 
horsemen  abreast,  and  branched  off  in  three 
directions  ;  the  main  line  going  to  the  village 
of  Ourem.  a  distance  of  50  miles.  This  road 
formeily  extended  to  Maranham,  but  it  had 
been  long  in  disuse,  and  was  now  grown  up, 
being  scarcely  passable  between  Para  and 
Ourem. 

Our  researches  were  made  in  various  di- 
rections along  these  paths,  and  eveiy  day 
produced  us  a  number  of  new  and  interest- 
ing species.  Collecting,  preparing  our  spec- 
imens, and  making  notes,  kept  us  well  occu- 
pied. One  day  was  so  much  like  another 
that  a  general  description  of  the  diurnal 
round  of  incidents,  including  the  sequence  of 
natural  phenomena,  will  oe  sufficient  to  give 
an  idea  of  how  days  pass  to  naturalists  un- 
der the  equator. 

We  used  to  rise  soon  after  dawn,  when 
Isidoro  would  go  down  to  the  city,  after  sup- 
plying us  with  a  cup  of  coffee,  to  purchase 
the  fresh  provisions  for  the  day.  The  two 
hours  before  breakfast  were  devoted  to  orni- 
thology. At  that  early  period  of  the  day  the 
sky  was  invariably  cloudltss  (the  thermome- 
ter marking  T2°  or  73°  Fahr.) ;  the  heavy  dew 
or  the  previous  night's  rain,  which  lay  on  the 
moist  foliage,  becoming  quickly  dissipated 
by  the  glowing  sun,  which  rising  straight  out 
of  the  east,  mounted  rapidly  toward  the 
zenith.  All  nature  was  frtsh,  new  leaf  and 
flower-ibuds expanding  rapidly.  Some  morn- 
ings a  single  tree  would  appear  in  flower 
amid  what  was  the  preceding  evening  a  uni- 
form green  mass  of  forest — a  dome  of  blos- 
som suddenly  created  as  if  by  magic.  The 
birds  were  all  active  ;  from  the  wild-fruit 
trees,  not  far  off,  we  often  heard  the  shrill 
yelping  of  the  Toucans  (Ramphastos  vitelli- 
nus).  Small  flocks  of  parrots  flew  over  on 
most  mornings,  at  a  great  height,  appealing 
in  distinct  relief  against  the  blue  sky,  always 
two  by  two,  chattering  to  each  other,  the 
pairs  being  separated  by  regular  intervals  ; 
their  bright  colors,  however,  were  not  ap- 
parent at  that  height.  After  breakfast  we 
devoted  the  hours  from  10  A.M.  to 2  or  3  P.M. 
to  entomology  ;  the  best  time  for  insects  in 
the  forest  being  a  little  before  the  greatest 
heat  of  the  day. 

The  heat  increased  rapidly  toward  two 
o'clock  (92°  and  93°  Fahr.),  by  which  time 
every  voice  of  bird  or  mammal  was  hushed  ; 
only  in  the  trees  was  heard  at  intervals  the 
harsh  whirr  of  a  cicada.  The  leaves,  which 
were  so  moist  and  fresh  in  early  morning, 
now  become  lax  and  drooping  ;  the  flowers 
shed  their  petals.  Our  neighbors,  the  Indian 
and  mulatto  inhabitants  of  the  open  palm- 
thatched  huts,  as  we  returned  home  fatigued 
with  our  ramble,  were  either  asleep  in  their 
hammocks  or  seated  on  mats  in  the  shade, 
too  languid  even  to  talk.  On  most  days  in 
June  and  July  a  heavy  shower  would  fall 
some  time  in  the  afternoon,  producing  a 
most  welcome  coolness.  The  approach  of 
the  rain-clouds  was  after  a  uniform  fashion 
very  interesting  to  observe.  First,  the  cool 
sea-breeze,  which  commenced  to  blow  about 


634 


THE  NATURALIST   ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


ten  o'clock,  and  which  had  increased  in  force 
with  the  increasing  power  of  the  sun,  would 
flag  and  finally  die  away.      The  heat  and 
electric  tension  of  the  atmosphere  would  then 
become  almost  insupportable.     Languor  and 
uneasiness  would  seize  on  every  one  ;  even 
the  denizens  of  the  forest  betraying  it  by 
their  motions.     White  clouds  would  appear 
in  the  east  and  gather  into  cumuli,  with  an 
increasing  blackness  along  their  lower  por- 
tions.    The  whole  eastern  horizon  would  be- 
come almost  suddenly  black,  and  this  would 
spread  upward,  the  sun  at  length  becoming 
obscured.     Then  the  rush  of  a  mighty  wind 
is  heard  through  the  forest,  swaying  the  tree- 
tops  ;  a  vivid  flash  of  lightning  bursts  forth, 
thea  a  crash  of  thunder,  and  down  streams 
the  deluging  ^ain.     Such  storms  soon  cease, 
leaviag  bluish-black  motionless  clouds  in  the 
sky  until  night.     Meantime  all  nature  is  re- 
freshed ;  but  heaps  of  flower-petals  and  fall- 
en leaves  are  seen  under  the  trees.     Toward 
evening  life  revives  again,  and  the  ringing 
uproar  is  resumed  from  bush  and  tree.    vfhe 
following  morning  the  sun  again  rises  in  a 
cloudless  sky,  and  so  the  cycle  is  completed  ; 
spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  as  it  were,  in 
one  tropical  day.     The  days  are  more  or  less 
like  this  throughout  the  year  in  this  country. 
A  little  difference  exists  between  the  dry  and 
wet  seasons  ;  but  generally,  the  dry  season, 
which  lasts  from  July  to  December,  is  varied 
with  showers,  and  the  wet,  from  January  to 
June,  with  sunny  da}-s.     It  results  from  this 
that  the  periodical  phenomena  of  plants  and 
animals  do  not  take  place  at  about  the  same 
time  in  all  species,  or  in  the  individuals  of 
any  given  species,  as  they  do  in  temperate 
countries.     Of  course  there  is  no  hiberna- 
tion ;  nor,  as  the  dry  season  is  not  excessive, 
is  there  any  summer  torpidity  as  in  some 
tropical  countries.     Plants  do  not  flower  or 
shed  their  leaves,  nor  do  birds  moult,  pair, 
or  breed  simultaneously.    In  Europe,  a  wood- 
land scene  has  its  spring,  its  summer,  its 
autumnal,  and  its  winter  aspects.     In  the 
equatorial  forests  the  aspect  is  the  same  or 
nearly  so  every  day  in  the  year  :   budding 
flowering,  fruiting,  and  leaf  shedding  are  al- 
ways going  on  in  one  species  or  other.     The 
activity  of  birds  and  insects  proceeds  without 
interruption,    each    species  having  its  own 
separate  times  ;    the  colonies  of  wasps,  for 
instance,  cfo  not  die  off  annually,  leaving  only 
the  queens,  as  in  cold  climates  ;  but  the  suc- 
cession of  generations  and  colonies  goes  on 
incessantly.      It  is  never  either  spring,  sum- 
mer, or  autumn,  but  each  day  is  a  combina- 
tion of  all  three.     With  the  day  and  night  al- 
ways of  equal  length,  the  atmospheric  dis- 
turbances of  each  day  neutralizing  themselves 
before  each  succeeding  morn  ;  with  the  sun 
in  its  course  proceeding  midway  across  the 
sky,   and  the  daily  temperature  the  same 
within  two  or  three  degrees  throughout  the 
year— how  grand  in  its  perfect  equilibrium 
and  simplicity  is  the  march  of  Nature  under 
the  equator  ! 

Our   evenings  were    generally  fully   em- 
ployed preserving  our  collections  and  muk- . 


ing  notes.  We  dined  at  four,  and  took  tea 
about  seven  o'clock.  Sometimes  we  walked 
to  the  city  to  see  Brazilian  life  or  enjoy  ih& 
pleasures  of  European  and  American  society. 
And  so  the  time  passed  away  from  June  lo'L 
to  August  26th.  During  /l.his  peri  d  we 
made  two  excursions  of  greater  length  to  the 
rice  and  saw-mills  of  Magoary,  an  establish- 
ment owned  by  an  American  gentleman,  Mr. 
Upton,  situated  on  the  banks  of  a  creek  in. 
the  heart^ of  the  forest,  about  twelve  miles. 
from  Pata.  1  will  narrate  some  ot  the  inci- 
dents of  these  excursions,  and  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  more  interesting  observations 
made  on  the  natural  history  and  inhabitants 
of  these  interior  creeks  and  forests. 

Our  first  trip  to  the  mills  was  by  land. 
The  creek  on  whose  banks  they  stand,  the 
Iritiri,  communicates  with  the  river  Para 
through  another  larger  creek,  the  Magoaiy  -r 
so  that  there  is  a  passage  by  water,  but  this. 
is  about  twenty  miles  round.  We  started  at 
sunrise,  taking  Isidoro  with  us.  The  road 
plunged  at  once  into  the  forest  after  having 
Nazareth,  so  that  in  a  few  minutes  we  were 
enveloped  in  shade.  For  some  distance  the 
woods  were  of  second  growth,  the  original 
forest  near  the  town  having  been  formeilv 
cleared  or  thinned.  They  were  dense  an-l 
impenetrable  on  account  of  the  close  grow  tit. 
of  the  young  trees  and  the  mass  of  thornv 
shrubs  and  creepers.  These  thickets  swarmed 
with  ants  and  ant-thrushes  :  they  weie  also* 
frequented  by  a  species  of  puff -throated  man- 
ikin, a  little  bird  which  flies  occasionally" 
across  the  road,  emitting  a  strange  noise, 
made,  I  believe,  witJt  the  wings,  and  resem- 
bling the  clatter  of  a  small  wooden  rattle. 

A  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  further  on,  the 
character  of  the  woods  began  to  change,  and 
we  then  found  ourselves  in  the  primeval 
forest.  The  appearance  was  greatly  diff  eren  4 
from  that  of  the  swampy  tract  I  have  aireacy 
described.  The  land  was  rather  more  ele- 
vated and  undulating  ;  the  many  swamp 
plants  with  their  long  and  broad  leaves  were 
wanting,  and  there  was  less  underwood,  al- 
though the  trees  were  wider  apart.  Through 
this  wilderness  the  road  continued  for  seven 
or  eight  miles.  The  same  unbroken  forest 
extends  all  the  way  to  Maranham  and  in  ether 
directions,  as  we  were  told,  a  distance  of 
about  300  miles  southward  and  eastward  of 
Para.  In  almost  every  hollow  part  the  road: 
was  crossed  by  a  brook,  whose  cold,  daik, 
leaf -stained  waters  were  bridged  over  by  i  tee- 
trunks.  The  ground  was  carpeted,  as  usual, 
by  Lycopodiums,  but  it  was  also  incumbeied. 
with  masses  of  vegetable  debris  and  a  thick 
coating  of  dead  leaves.  Fruits  of  many  kinds 
were  scattered  about,  among  which  were 
many  sorts  of  beans,  some  of  the  pods  a  foot- 
long,  flat  and  leathery  in  texture,  others  hard 
as  stone.  In  one  place  there  was  a  quantity 
of  large  empty  wooden  vessels,  which  Isidora 
told  us  fell  from  the  Sapucaya  tree.  They 
are  called  monkeys'  drinking-cups  (Cuyas  de 
Maccao),  and  are  the  capsules  which  contain 
the  nuts  sold  under  the  names  just  mentioned, 
in  Covent  Garden  Market.  At  the  too  of  the 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


635 


Vessel  is  a  circular  hole,  in  which  a  natural 
I'd  fits  neatly.  When  the  nuts  are  ripe,  this 
Al  becomes  loosened,  and  the  heavy  cup  falls 
with  a  crash,  scattering  the  nuts  over  the 
ground.  The  tree  which  yields  the  nut 
(Lecythis  ollaria),  is  of  immense  height.  It 
is  Closely  allied  to  the  Brazil-nut  tree  (Berthol- 
letia  excelsa),  whose  seeds  are  also  inclosed 
in  large  woody  vessels  ;  hut  these  have  no 
lid,  and  fall  entire  to  the  ground.  This  is  the 
reason  why  the  one  kind  of  nut  is  so  much 
dearer  than  the  other.  The  Sapucaya  is  not 
less  abundant,  probably.than  the  Bertholletia, 
but  its  nuts  in  falling  are  scattered  about  and 
eaten  by  wild  animals  ;  while  the  full  cap- 
sules of  Brazil-nuts  are  collected  entire  by  the 
natives. 

What  attracted  us  chiefly  were  the  colossal 
trees.  The  general  run  of  trees  had  not  re- 
markablv  thick  stems;  the  great  and  uni- 
form height  to  which  they  grow  without 
emitting  a  branch  was  a  much  more  notice- 
able feature  than  their  thickness  ;  but  at  in- 
tervals of  a  furlong  or  so  a  veritable  giant 
towered  up.  Only  one  of  these  monstrous 
trees  can  grow  within  a  given  space  ;  it  mo- 
nopolizes the  domain,  and  none  but  individ- 
uals of  much  inferior  size  can  find  a  footing 
near  it.  The  cylindrical  trunks  of  these 
larger  trees  were  generally  about  20  to  25 
feet  in  circumference.  Von  Martius  men- 
tions having  measured  trees  in  the  Para  dis- 
trict, belonging  to  various  species  (JSympho- 
nia  cocciuea,  Lecythis  sp.  and  Crataeva  Ta- 
pia),  which  were  50  to  60  feet  in  'girth  at  the 
point  where  they  become  cylindrical.  The 
height  of  the  vast  column-like  steois  could 
not  be  less  than  100  feet  from  the  ground  to 
their  lowest  branch.  Mr.  Leavens,  at  the 
saw-mills,  told  me  they  frequently  squared 
logs  for  sawing  100  feet  long,  of  the  Pao 
d'Arco  and  the  Massaranduba.  The  total 
height  of  these  trees,  stem  and  crowrn  to- 
gether, may  be  estimated  at  from  180  to  200 
feet :  where  one  of  them  stands,  the  vast 
dome  of  foliage  rises  above  the  other  forest 
trees  as  a  domed  cathedral  does  above  the 
other  buildings  in  a  city. 

A  very  remarkable  feature  in  these  trees  is 
the  growth  of  buttress-shaped  projections 
around  the  lower  part  of  their  stems.  The 
spaces  between  these  buttresses,  which  are 
generally  thin  walls  of  wood,  form  spacious 
chambers,  and  may  be  compared  to  stalls  in 
a  stable  :  some  of  them  are  large  enough  to 
hold  half  a  dozen  persons.  The  purpose  of 
these  structures  is  as  obvious,  at  the  first 
glance,  as  that  of  the  similar  props  of  brick- 
work which  support  a  high  wall.  They  are 
not  peculiar  to  one  species,  but  are  common 
to  most  of  the  larger  forest  trees.  Their 
nature  and  manner  of  growth  are  explained 
when  a  series  of  young  trees  of  different 
ages  is  examined.  It  is  then  seen  that  they 
are  the  roots  which  have  raised  themselves 
ridge-like  out  of  the  earth  ;  growing  grad- 
ually upward  as  the  increasing  height  of  the 
tree  required  augmented  support.  Thus  they 
ure  plainly  intended  to  sustain  the  massive 
crown  and  trunk  in  these  crowded  forests, , 


where  lateral  growth  of  the  roots  in  the  earth 
ia  rendered  difficult  by  the  multitude  of  com- 
petitors. 

The  other  grand  forest  trees  whose  native 
names  we  learned,  were  the  Moira-tinga  (the 
White  or  King-tree),  probably  the  same  as, 
or  allied  to,  the  Mora  excelsa,  which  Sir  Rob- 
ert Schombuigk  discovered  in  British  Gui- 
ana ;  the  Samaiima  (Eriodendron  Samauma) 
and  the  MassaraLdiiba,  or  Cow-tree.  The 
last-mentioned  is  the  most  reinai  kable.  We 
had  already  heard  a  good  deal  about  this; 
tree,  and  about  its  producing  from  its  baik  a. 
copious  supply  of  milk  as  pleasant  to  dribk. 
as  that  of  the  cow.  We  had  also  eaten  its 
fruit  in  Para,  where  it  is  sold  in  the  streets, 
by  negro  market  wom'^n  ;  and  had  heard  a 
good  deal .  f  the  duraoleness  in  water  of  its 
timber.  We  were  glad,  therefore,  to  see  this 
wonderful  tree  growing  in  its  native  wilds. 
It  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  forest  mon- 
archs,  and  is  peculiar  in  appearance  on  ac- 
count of  its  deeply-scored,  reddish,  and  rag- 
ged bark.  A  decoction  of  the  baik,  I  was 
told,  is  used  as  a  red  dye  for  cloth.  A  few 
days  afterward  we  tasted  its  milk,  which 
was  drawn  from  dry  logs  that  had  been  stand 
ing  many  days  in  the  hot  suri,  at  the  saw- 
mills. It  was  pleasant  with  colfee,  but  had  a 
slight  rankness  when  drank  pure  ;  it  soon 
thickens  to  a  glue,  which  is  excessively  tena- 
cious, and  is  often  used  to  cement  broken 
crockery.  I  was  told  that  it  was  not  safe  to 
drink  much  of  it,  for  a  slave  had  recently 
nearly  lost  his  life  through  taking  it  too 
freely. 

In  some  parts  of  the  road  ferns  were  con- 
spicuous objects.  But  I  afterward  found 
them  much  more  numerous  on  the  Maranham 
road,  especially  in  one  place  where  the  whole 
forest  glade  formed  a  vast  fernery  ;  the 
ground  was  covered  with  terrestrial  species, 
and  the  tree-trunks  clothed  with  climbing  and 
epiphytous  kinds.  I  saw  no  tree  ferns  in  the 
Para  district ;  they  belong  to  hilly  regions  ; 
some  occur,  however,  on  the  Upper  Ama- 
zons. 

Such  were  the  principal  features  in  the 
vegetation  of  the  wilderness  ;  bat  where  were 
the  flowers  ?  To  our  great  disappointment 
we  saw  none,  or  only  such  as  were  insignifi- 
cant in  appearance.  Orchids  are  very  rare 
in  the  dense  forests  of  the  low  lands.  I  be» 
lieve  it  is  now  tolerably  well  ascertained  that 
the  majority  of  forest  trees  in  equatorial  Bra- 
zil have  small  and  inconspicuous  flowers. 
Flower-frequenting  insects  are  also  rare  in 
the  forest.  Of  course  they  would  not  be 
found  where  their  favorite  food  was  want- 
ing, but  I  always  noticed  that  even  where 
flowers  occurred  in  the  forest,  few  or  no  in- 
sects were  seen  upon  them.  In  the  open 
country  or  campos  of  Santarem,  on  the 
Lower  AmaZvms,  flowering  trees  and  bushes 
are  more  abundant,  and  there  a  large  num- 
ber of  floral  insects  are  attracted.  The  forest 
bees  of  South  America  belonging  to  the 
genera  Melipona  and  Euglossa  are  more  fre- 
quently seen  feeding  on  the  sweet  sap  which 
v  exudes  from  the  trees,  or  on  the  excrement 


636 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


of  bii  .Js  on  leaves,  than  on  flowers. 

We  were  disappointed  also  in  not  meeting; 
with  any  of  the  larger  animals  in  the  forest. 
There  was  uo  tumultuous  movement,  or 
sound  of  life.  "We  did  not  see  or  hear  mon- 
keys, and  no  tapir  or  jaguar  crossed  our  path. 
Birds,  also,  appeared  to  be  exceedingly 
scarce.  We  heard,  however,  occasion- 
ally the  long-drawn,  wailing  note  of  the 
Inambu,  a  kind  of  partridge  (Crypturus  cine- 
reus  ?)  ;  and,  also,  in  the  hollows  on  the 
banks  of  the  rivulets,  the  noisy  notes  of  an- 
other bird,  which  seemed  to  go  in  pairs, 
among  the  tree-tops,  calling  to  each  other  as 
they  went.  These  notes  resounded  through 
the  wilderness.  Another  solitary  bird  had  a 
most  sweet  and  melancholy  song  ;  it  consisted 
simply  of  a  few  notes,  uttered  in  a  plaintive 
key,  commencing  high,  and  descending  by 
harmonic  intervals.  It  was  probably  a  spe- 
cies of  warbler  of  the  genus  Trshas.  All 
these  notes  of  birds  are  very  striking  and 
characteristic  of  the  forest. 

I  afterward    saw  reason    to  modify  my 
opinion,  founded  on  these  first  impressions, 
with  regard  to  the  amount  and  variety  of  an- 
imal life  in  this  and  other  parts  of  the  Ama- 
zonian forests.     There  is,  in  fact,  a  great  va- 
riety of  mammals,   birds,  and  reptiles,  but 
they  are  widely  scattered,  and  all  excessively 
shy  of  man.     The  region  is  so  extensile,  and 
uniform  in  the  forest  clothing  of  the  surface, 
that  it  is  only  at  long  intervals  that  animals 
are  seen  in  abundance,  where  some  particu- 
lar spot  is  found  which  is  more  attractive 
than  others.   Brazil,  moreover,  is  throughout 
poor  in  terrestrial  mammals,  and  the  species 
are  of  small  size  ;    they  do  not,   therefore, 
form  a  conspicuous  feature  in  its  forests. 
The  huntsman  would  be  disappointed  who 
expected  to  rind  here  flocks  of  animals  simi- 
lar to  the  buffalo  herds  of  North  America, 
or  the  swarms  of  antelopes  and  herds  of  pon- 
derous pachyderms  of  Southern  Africa.     The 
largest  and  most  interesting  portion  of  the  Bra- 
zilian mammal  fauna  is  arboreal  in  its  hab- 
its ;    this  feature  of  the  animal  denizens  of 
these  forests  I  have  already  alluded  to.    The 
most  intensely  arboreal  animals  in  the  world 
are  the  South  American  monkeys  of  the  fam- 
ily Cebidse,  many  of  which  have  a  fifth  hand 
for  climbing  in  their  prehensile  tails,  adapted 
for  this  function  by  their  strong  muscular 
development,   and  the  naked  palms  under 
their  tips.     This  seems  to  teach  us  that  the 
South    American    fauna    has    been  slowly 
adapted  to  a  forest  life,  and,  therefore,  that 
extensive  forests  must  have  always  existed 
since  the  region  was  first  peopled  by  mam- 
malia.    But  to  this  subject,  and  to  the  nat- 
ural history  of  the  monkeys,  of  which  thirty- 
eight  species  inhabit  the  Amazon  region,  J 
shall  have  to  return. 

We  often  read,  in  books  of  travels,  of  the 
silence  and  gloom  of  the  Brazilian  forests. 
They  are  realities,  and  the  impression  deep- 
ens on  a  longer  acquaintance.  The  few 
sounds  of  birds  are  of  that  pensive  or  mys- 
terious character  which  intensifies  the  feel- 
ing of  solitude  rather  than  imparts  a  sense  of 
life  and  cheerfulness.  Sometimes,  in  the 


midst  of  the  stillness,  a  sudden  yell  or  scream 
will  startle  one  ;  this  comes  from  some  de« 
fenceless  fruit  -  eating  animal,  which  is 
pounced  upon  by  a  tiger-cut  or  stealthy  boa- 
constrictor..  Morning  and  evening  the  howl' 
ing  monkeys  make  a  most  fearful  and  harrow- 
ing noise,  under  which  it  is  difficult  to  keep 
up  one's  buoyancy  of  spirit.  The  feeling  oi 
inhospitable  wildness  which  the  forest  is  cal- 
culated to  inspire  is  increased  tenfold  under 
this  fearful  uproar.  Often,  even  in  the  still 
hours  of  midday,  a  sudden  crash  will  be 
heard  resounding  nfar  through  the  wilder- 
ness, as  some  great  bough  or  entire  tree  falls 
to  the  ground.  There  are,  besides,  many 
sounds  which  it  is  impossibe  to  account  for. 
I  found  the  natives  generally  as  much  at  a 
loss  in  this  respect  as  myself.  Sometimes  a 
sound  is  heard  like  the  clang  of  an  iron  bar 
against  a  hard,  hollow  tiee,  or  a  piercing  cry 
rends  the  air  ;  these  are  not  repeated,  and 
the  succeeding  silence  tends  to  heighten  the 
unpleasant  impression  which  they  make  on 
the  mind.  With  the  native  it  is  always  the 
Curupira,  the  wild  man  or  spirit  of  the  for- 
est,  which  produces  all  noises  they  are  un- 
able to  explain.  For  myths  are  the  rude 
theories  which  mankind,  in  the  infancy  of 
knowledge,  invent  to  explain  natural  phe- 
nomena. The  Cuiupira  is  a  mysterious  be- 
ing, whose  attributes  are  uncertain,  for  they 
vary  according  to  locality.  Sometimes  he  is 
described  as  a  kind  of  orang-otang,  being 
covered  with  long  shaggy  hair,  and  living 
in  trees.  At  others  he  is  said  to  have  clo- 
ven feet  and  a  bright  red  face.  He  has  a  wife 
and  children,  and  sometimes  comes  down  to 
the  rocas  to  steal  the  mandioca.  At  one 
time  I  had  a  mameluco  youth  in  my  service, 
whose  head  was  full  of  the  legends  and  su- 
perstitions of  the  country.  He  always  went 
with  me  into  the  forest ;  in  fact,  I  could  not 
get  him  to  go  aloue,  and  whenever  we  heard 
any  of  the  strange  noises  mentioned  above, 
he  used  to  tremble  with  fear.  He  would 
crouch  down  behind  me,  and  beg  of  me  to 
turn  back  ;  his  alarm  ceasing  only  after  he 
had  made  a  charm  to  protect  us  from  the 
Curupira.  For  this  purpose  he  took  a  young 
palm-leaf,  plaited  it,  and  formed  it  into  a 
ring,  which  he  hung  to  a  branch  on  our  track. 
At  length,  after  a  six  hours'  walk,  we  arrived 
at  our  ^destination,  the  last  mile  or  two  hav- 
ing been  again  through  second-growth  for- 
est. The  mills  formed  a  large  pile  of  build- 
ings,  pleasantly  situated  in  a  cleared  tract  of 
land,  many  acres  in  extent,  and  everywhere 
surrounded  by  the  perpeiua!  forest.  We 
were  received  in  the  kindest  manner  by  the 
overseer,  Mr.  Leavens,  who  showed  us  all 
that  was  interesting  about  the  place,  and  took 
us  to  the  best  spots  in  the  neighborhood  for 
birds  and  insects.  The  mills  were  built  & 
loug  time  ago  by  a  wealthy  Brazilian.  They 
had  belonged  to  Mr.  Upton  for  many  years. 
I  was  told  that  when  the  dark-skinned  revo- 
lutionists were  preparing  for  their  attack  on 
Para,  they  occupied  the  place,  but  not  the 
slightest  injury  was  done  to  the  machinery  or 
building,  for  the  leaders  said  it  was  against 
•  the  Portuguese  and  their  party  that  they  were 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


637 


at  war,  not,  against  the  other  foreigners. 

The  creek  Iritiri  at  the  mills  is  only  a  few 
yards  wide  ;  it  winds  about  between  two 
lofty  walls  of  forest  for  some  distance,  then 
becomes  much  broader,  and  finally  joins  the 
Magoary.  There  are  many  other  ramifica- 
tions, creeks  or  channels,  which  lead  to  re- 
tired hamiets  and  scattered  houses,  inhabited 
by  people  of  mixed  white,  Indian,  and  negro 
descent.  Many  of  them  did  business  with 
Mr.  Leavens,  bringing  tor  sale  their  little 
liar  vests  of  rice  or  a  few  logs  of  timber.  It 
was  interesting  to  see  them  in  their  little 
heavily  -  laden  montarias.  Sometimes  the 
boats  were  managed  by  handsome,  healthy 
young  lads,  loosely  clad  in  straw  hat,  white 
shirt,  and  dark  blue  trousers  turned  up  to 
the  knee.  They  steered,  paddled,  and  man- 
aged the  varejaO  (the  boating  pole)  with  much 
grace  and  dexterity. 

We  made  many  excursions  down  the  Iritiri, 
and  saw  much  of  these  creeks  ;  besides,  our 
second  visit  to  the  mills  was  by  water.  The 
Magoary  is  a  magnificent  channel  ;  the  differ- 
ent branches  form  quite  a  labyrinth,  and  the 
land  is  everywhere  of  little  elevation.  All 
these  smaller  rivers  throughout  the  Para  es- 
tuary are  of  the  nature  of  creeks.  The  land 
is  so  level  that  the  short  local  rivers  have  no 
sources  and  downward  currents,  like  rivers 
as  we  generally  understand  them.  They 
serve  the  purpose  of  diuining  the  Ir.iid,  but 
instead  of  having  a  constant  current  one  way, 
they  have  a  regular  ebb  and  flow  with  the 
tide.  The  natives  call  them,  in  the  Tupi 
language,  Igarapes,  or  canoe-paths.  The 
igarapes  and  faros  or  channels,  which  are  in- 
finite in  number  in  this  great  river  delta,  are 
characteristic  of  the  country.  The  land  is 
everywhere  covered  with  impenetrable  for- 
ests ;  the  houses  and  villages  are  all  on  the 
waterside,  and  nearly  all  communication  is 
by  water.  This  semi-aquatic  life  of  the 
people  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  features 
of  the  country.  For  short  excursions,  and 
for  fishing  in  still  waters,  a  small  boat,  called 
montaiia,  is  universally  used.  It  is  made  cf 
five  planks  ;  a  broad  one  for  the  bottom, 
bent  into  the  proper  shape  by  the  action  of 
heat,  two  narrow  ones  for  the  sides,  and  two 
small  triangular  pieces  for  stem  and  stern. 
It  has  no  rudder  ;  the  paddle  serves  for  both 
steering  and  propelling.  The  montaria takes 
here  the  place  of  the  horse,  mule,  or  camel 
of  other  regions.  Besides  one  or  more  mon- 
tarias, almost  every  family  has  a  larger  canoe, 
called  Igarite.  This  is  fitted  with  two 
masts,  a  rudder,  and  keel,  and  has  an  arched 
awning  or  cabin  near  the  stern,  made  of  a 
framework  of  tough  lianas,  thatched  with 
palm-leaves.  In  the  igarite  they  will  cross 
stormy  rivers  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  broad. 
The  natives  are  all  boat-buildert?.  It  is  often 
remai  ked,  by  white  residents,  that  an  Indian 
is  a  carpenter  and  shipwright  by  intuition. 
It  is  astonishing  to  see  in  what  crazy  vessels 
these  people  will  risk  themselves.  I  have 
seen  Indians  cross  rivers  in  a  leaky  montaria, 
when  it  required  the  nicest  equilibrium  to 
keep  the  leak  just  above  water  ;  a  movement 


of  a  hair's  breadth  would  send  allfo  the  bot- 
tom, but  they  managed  to  cross  in  safety. 
They  are  especially  careful  when  they  have 
strangers  under  their  charge,  and  it  is  the 
custom  of  Brazilian  and  Portuguese  travel- 
lers to  leave  the  whole  management  to  them. 
When  they  are  alone,  they  aie  more  reck- 
less, and  often  have  to  swim  for  their  lives. 
If  a  squall  overtakes  them  as  they  are  cios^ 
ing  in  a  heavily-laden  canoe,  they  all  jump 
overboard  and  swim  about  until  the  het.vy 
sea  subsides,  when  they  re-embark. 

A  few  words  on  the  aboriginal  population 
of  the  Para  estuary  will  here  not  be  out  of 
place.  The  banks  of  the  Para  were  origin- 
ally inhabited  by  a  number  of  distinct  tribes, 
who,  in  their  habits,  resembled  very  much 
the  natives  of  the  sea-coast  from  Maranham 
to  Bahia.  It  is  related  that  one  large  tribe, 
the  Tupinambas,  migrated  from  Peinambuco 
to  the  Amazons.  One  fact  seems  to  be  well 
established,  namely,  that  all  the  coast  tribes 
were  far  more  advanced  in  civilization,  and 
milder  in  their  manners,  than  the  savages 
who  inhabited  the  interior  lands  of  Brazil. 
They  were  settled  in  villages,  and  addicted 
to  agriculture.  They  navigated  the  rivers  in 
large  canoes,  called  ubas,  made  of  immense 
hoilowed-out  tree  trunks  ;  in  these  they  used 
to  go  on  war  expeditions,  carrying  in  the 
prows  their  trophies  and  calabash  rattles, 
whose  clatter  was  meant  to  intimidate  their 
enemies.  They  were  gentle  in  disposition, 
and  received  the  early  Portuguese  settlers 
with  great  friendliness.  The  inland  savages, 
on  the  other  hand,  led  a  wandering  life,  as 
they  do  at  the  present  time,  only  coming 
down  occasionally  to  rob  the  plantations  of 
the  coast  tribes,  who  always  entertained  the 
greatest  enmity  toward  them. 

The  original  Indian  tribes  of  the  district 
are  now  either  civilized  or  have  amalgamated 
with  the  white  and  negro  immigrants.  Their 
distinguished  tribal  names  have  long  been 
forgotten,  and  the  race  bears  now  the  gen- 
eral appellation  of  Tapuyo,  which  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  names  of  the  ancient  Tupinam- 
bas. The  Indians  of  the  interior,  still  re- 
maining in  the  savage  state,  are  called  by  the 
Brazilians  Indios,  or  Gentios  (Heathens).  All 
the  semi-  civilized  Tapuyos  of  the  villages, 
and  in  fact  the  inhabitants  of  retired  places 
generally,  speak  the  Lingoa  gera],  a  language 
adapted  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  from  the 
original  idbin  of  the  Tupinambas.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  Guaranis,  a  nation  living  on  tha 
banks  of  the  Paraguay,  is  a  dialect  of  it,  and 
hence  it  is  called  by  philologists  the  Tupi- 
Guarani  language  ;  printed  grammars  of  it 
are  always  on  sale  at  the  shops  of  the  Para 
booksellers.  The  fact  of  one  language  hav- 
ing been  spoken  over  so  wide  an  extent  of 
country  as  that  from  the  Amazons  to  Para- 
guay, is  quite  an  isolated  one  in  this  country, 
and  points  to  considerable  migrations  of  the  . 
Indian  tribes  in  former  times.  At  present 
the  languages  spoken  by  neighboring  tribe* 
on  the  banks  of  the  interior  rivers  are  totally 
distinct ;  on  the  Jurua,  even  scattered  hordet 


NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


belonging  *>  the  same  tribe  are  not  able  to 
understand  each  other. 

The  civilized  Tapuyo  of  Para  differs  in  no 
essential  point,  in  physical  or  moral  qualities, 
from  the  Indian  of  the  interior.  He  is  more 
stoutly  built,  being  better  fed  than  some  of 
them  ;  but  in  this  respect  there  are  great 
differences  among  the  tribes  themselves.  He 
presents  all  the  chief  characteristics  of  the 
American  red  man.  The  skin  of  a  coppery 
brown  color,  the  features  of  the  face  broad, 
and  the  hair  black,  thick,  and  straight.  He  is 
generally  about  the  middle  height,  thick-set, 
has  a  broad  muscular  chest,  well-shaped  but 
somewhat  thick  legs  and  arms,  and  small 
hands  and  feet.  The  cheek  bones  are  not 
generally  prominent ;  the  eyes  are  black,  and 
seldom  oblique  like  those  of  the  Tartar  races 
of  Eastern  Asia,  which  are  supposed  to  have 
sprung  from  the  same  original  stock  as  the 
American  red  man.  The  features  exhibit 
scarcely  any  mobility  of  expression  ;  this  is 
connected  with  the  excessively  apathetic  and 
undemonstrative  character  of  the  race.  They 
never  betray,  in  fact  they  do  not  feel  keenly, 
the  emotions  of  joy,  grief,  wonder,  fear,  and 
so  forth.  They  can  never  be  excited  to  en- 
thusiasm ;  but  they  have  strong  affections, 
especially  those  connected  with  family.  It 
is  commonly  stated  by  the  whites  and  ne- 
groes that  the  Tapuyo  is  ungrateful.  Bra- 
zilian mistresses  of  households,  who  have 
much  experience  of  Indians,  have  always  a 
long  list  of  instances  to  relate  to  the  stranger, 
showing  their  base  ingratitude.  They  cer- 
tainly do  not  appear  to  remember  or  think 
of  repaying  benefits,  but  this  is  probably  be- 
cause they  did  not  require,  and  do  not  value, 
such  benefits  as  their  would-be  masters  con- 
fer upon  them.  I  have  known  instances  of 
attachment  and  fidelity  on  the  part  of  Indians 
toward  their  masters,  but  these  are  excep- 
tional cases.  All  the  actions  of  the  Indian 
show  that  his  ruling  desire  is  to  be  let  alone  ; 
he  is  attached  to  his  home,  his  quiet  monot- 
onous forest  and  river  life  ;  he  likes  to  go  to 
towns  occasionally,  to  see  the  wonders  intro- 
duced by  the  white  man,  but  he  has  a  great 
repugnance  to  living  in  the  midst  of  the 
crowd  ;  he  prefers  handicraft  to  field  labor, 
and  especially  dislikes  binding  himself  to  reg- 
ular labor  for  hire.  He  is  shy  and  uneasy 
before  strangers,  but  if  they  visit  his  abode, 
he  treats  them  well,  for  he  has  a  rooted  ap- 
preciation of  the  duty  of  hospitality  ;  there 
is  a  pride  about  him,  and  being  naturally 
formal  and  polite,  he  acts  the  host  with  great 
dignity.  He  withdraws  from  towns  as  soon 
as  the  stir  of  civilization  begins  to  make  it- 
self felt.  When  we  first  arrived  at  Para, 
many  Indian  families  resided  there,  for  the 
mode  of  living  at  that  time  was  more  like 
lhat  of  a  large  village  than  a  city  ;  but  as 
soon  as  river  steamers  and  more  business  ac- 
tivity were  introduced,  they  all  gradually 
took  themselves  away. 

These  characteristics  of  the  Pa<n  Indians 
are  applicable,  of  course,  to  some  extent,  to 
the  Mamelucos,  who  now  constitute  a  great 
proportion  of  the  population.  The  inflexi- 


bility of  character  of  the  Indian,  and  his  tot% 
inability  to  accommodate  himself  to  new  ar- 
rangements, will  infallibly  lead  to  his  extinc- 
tion, as  immigrants,  endowed  with  mor« 
supple  organizations,  increase,  and  civiliza- 
tion advances  in  the  Amazon  region.  But, 
as  the  different  races  amalgamate  readily, 
and  the  offspring  of  white  and  Indian  often 
become  distinguished  Brazilian  citizens, 
there  is  little  reason  to  regret  the  fate  of  the 
race.  Formerly  the  Indian  was  harshly 
treated,  and  even  now  he  is  so  in  many  parts 
of  the  interior.  But,  according  to  the  laws 
of  Brazil,  he  is  a  free  citizen,  having  equal 
privileges  with  the  whites  ;  and  there  are 
very  strong  enactments  providing  against  the 
enslaving  and  ill-treatment  of  the  Indians. 
The  residents  of  the  interior,  who  have  no 
higher  principles  to  counteract  instinctive 
selfishness  or  antipathy  of  race,  cannot  com- 
prehend why  they  are  not  allowed  to  compel 
Indians  to  work  for  them,  seeing  that  they 
will  not  do  it  of  their  own  accord.  The  in- 
evitable result  of  the  conflict  of  interests  be- 
tween a  European  and  a  weaker  indigenous 
race,  when  the  two  come  in  contact,  is  the 
sacrifice  of  the  latter.  In  the  Para  district, 
the  Indians  are  no  longer  enslaved,  but  they 
are  deprived  of  their  lands,  and  this  they 
feel  bitterly,  as  one  of  them,  an  industrious 
and  worthy  man,  related  to  me. 

On  our  second  visit  to  the  mills  we  stayed 
ten  days.  There  is  a  large  reservoir  and  also 
a  natural  lake  near  the  place,  both  contain- 
ing aquatic  plants,  whose  leaves  rest  on  the 
surface  like  our  water-lilies,  but  they  are  not 
so  elegant  as  our  nymphaea,  either  in  leaf  or 
flower.  On  the  banks  of  these  pools  grow 
quantities  of  a  species  of  fan-leaved  palm- 
tree,  the  Carana,  whose  stems  are  surrounded 
by  whorls  of  strong  spines.  I  sometimes 
took  a  montaria  and  paddled  myself  alone 
down  the  creek.  One  day  1  got  upset,  and 
had  to  land  on  a  grassy  slope  leading  to  an 
old  plantation,  wher",  I  ran  about  naked 
while  my  clothes  were  being  dried  on  a  bush. 
The  creek  Iritiri  is  not  so  picturesque  as 
many  others  which  I  subsequently  explored. 
Toward  the  Magoary  the  banks  at  the  edge 
of  the  water  are  clothed  with  mangrove 
bushes,  and  beneath  them  the  muddy  banks, 
into  which  the  long  roots  that  hang  down 
from  the  fruit  before  it  leaves  the  branches 
strike  their  fibres,  swarm  with  crabs.  On 
the  lower  branches  the  beautiful  bird,  Ardea 
helias,  is  found.  This  is  a  small  heron  of 
exquisitely  graceful  shape  and  mien ;  its 
plumage  is  minutely  variegated  with  bars 
and  spots  of  many  colors,  like  the  wings  of 
certain  kinds  of  moths.  It  is  diflicult  to  see 
the  bird  in  the  woods,  on  account  of  its  som- 
bre colors  and  the  shadiness  of  its  dwelling- 
places  ;  but  its  note,  a  soft  long-drawn 
whistle,  often  betrays  its  hiding-place.  I 
was  told  by  the  Indians  that  it  builds  in  trees, 
and  that  the  nest,  which  is  made  of  clay,  is 
beautifully  constructed.  It  is  a  favorite  pet- 
hird  of  the  Brazilians,  who  call  it  Pavai 
'  Jbnounced  pavaong),  or  peacock.  I  often 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


639 


had  opportunities  of  nhqerving  its  habits.  It 
-soon  becomes  tame,  and  walks  about  the 
floors  of  houses,  picking  up  scraps  of  food, 
or  catching  insects,  which  it  secures  by  walk- 
ing gently  to  the  place  where  they  settle,  ar..d 
spearing  them  with  its  long  slender  beak.  It 
allows  itself  to  be  handled  by  children,  and 
will  answer  to  its  name,  "  PavaO  I  PavaS  !" 
walking  up  with  a  dainty,  circumspect  gait, 
and  taking  a  fly  or  beetle  from  the  hand. 

During  these  rambles  by  land  and  water 
-we  increased  our  collections  considerably. 
Before  we  left  the  mills  we  arranged  a  joint 
excursion  to  the  Tocantins.  Mr.  Leavens 
•wished  to  ascend  that  river  to  ascertain  if  the 
reports  were  true,  that  cedar  grew  abundant- 
ly between  the  lowermost  cataract  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Araguaya,  and  we  agreed  to  ac- 
company him.  While  we  were  at  the  mills, 
a  Portuguese  trader  arrived  with  a  quantity  of 
worm-eaten  logs  of  this  cedar,  which  he  had 
gathered  from  the  floating  timber  in  the  cur- 
rent of  the  main  Amazons.  The  tree  pro- 
ducing this  wood,  which  is  named  cedar  on 
account  of  the  similarity  of  its  aroma  to  that 
of  the  true  cedars,  is  not,  of  course,  a  conifer- 
ous tree,  as  no  member  of  that  class  is  found 
in  equatorial  America,  at  least  in  the  Ama- 
zons region.  It  is,  according  to  Von  Martius, 
the  Cedrela  odorata,  an  exogen  belonging  to 
the  same  order  as  the  mahogany-tree.  The 
wood  is  light,  and  the  tree  is  therefore,  on 
falling  into  the  water,  floated  down  with  the 
river  currents.  It  must  grow  in  great  quan- 
tities somewhere  in  the  interior,  to  judge 
from  the  number  of  uprooted  trees  annually 
carried  to  the  sea  ;  and  as  the  wood  is  much 
esteemed  for  cabinet-work  and  canoe- build- 
ing, it  is  of  some  importance  to  learn  where 
a  regular  supply  can  be  obtained.  We  were 
glad  of  course  to  arrange  with  Mr.  Leavens, 
who  was  familiar  with  the  language,  and  an 
adept  in  river-navigation  ;  so  we  returned  to 
Par&  to  ship  our  collections  for  England,  and 
prepare  for  the  journey  to  a  new  region. 

CHAPTER  III. 

PARl. 

Religions  holidays— Marmoset  monkeys— Serpents- 
Insects. 

BEFORE  leaving  the  subject  of  Par&,  where 
1  resided,  as  already  stated,  in  all  eighteen 
months,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  more 
detailed  account  of  several  matters  connected 
with  the  customs  of  the  people  and  the  nat- 
ural history  of  the  neighborhood,  which  have 
hitherto  been  only  briefly  mentioned.  I  re- 
serve an  account  of  the  trade  and  improved 
condilion  of  Para  in  1859  for  the  end  of  this 
narrative. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  of  our  stay 
many  of  those  religious  festivals  took  place, 
which  occupied  so  large  a  share  of  the  time 
and  thoughts  of  the  people.  These  were 
splendid  affairs, wherein  artistically-arranged 
processions  through  the  streets,  accompanied 
by  thousands  of  people,  military  displays, 
the  clatter  of  fireworks,  and  the  clang  of 
military  music,  were  super  added  to  pomp- 


ous religious  services  hi  tL_  churches. 
To  those  who  had  witnessed  similar  cere- 
monies in  the  southern  countries  of 
Europe,  there  would  be  nothing  remarkable 
perhaps  in  these  doings,  except  their  taking 
place  amid  the  splendors  of  tropical  nature  ; 
but  to  me  they  were  full  of  novelty,  and 
were  besides  interesting  as  exhibiting  much 
that  was  peculiar  in  the  manners  of  the 
people.  The  festivals  celebrate  either  the 
anniversaries  of  events  concerning  saints,  or 
those  of  the  more  important  transactions  in 
the  life  of  Christ.  To  them  have  been  add- 
ed, since  the  Independence,  many  gala  days 
connected  with  the  events  in  the  Brazilian 
national  history  ;  but  these  have  all  a  semi- 
religious  character.  The  holidays  had  be- 
come so  numerous,  and  interfered  so  much 
with  trade  and  industry  toward  the  year  1852, 
that  the  Brazilian  Government  was  obliged 
to  reduce  them;  obtaining  the  necessary 
permission  from  Rome  to  abolish  several 
which  were  of  minor  importance.  Many  of 
those  which  have  been  retained  are  declining 
in  importance  since  the  introduction  of  rail- 
ways and  steamboats,  and  the  increased  de- 
votion of  the  people  to  commerce  ;  at  the 
time  of  our  arrival,  however,  they  were  in 
full  glory.  The  way  they  were  managed 
was  in  this  -fashion.  A  general  manager  or 
"  Juiz"  for  each  festa  was  elected  by  lot 
every  year  in  the  vestry  of  the  church,  and 
to  him  were  handed  over  all  the  parapher- 
nalia pertaining  to  the  particular  festival 
which  he  was  chosen  to  manage  ;  the  image 
of  the  saint,  the  banners,  silver  crowns,  and 
so  forth.  »He  then  employed  a  number  of 
people  to  go  the  round  of  the  parish  and  col- 
lect alms  toward  defraying  the  expenses.  It 
was  considered  that  the  greater  the  amount 
of  money  spent  in  wax-candles,  fireworks, 
music  and  feasting,  the  greater  the  honor 
done  to  the  saint.  If  the  Juiz  was  a  rich 
man,  he  seldom  sent  out  alms-gatherers,  but 
celebrated  the  whole  affair  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, which  was  sometimes  to  the  extent  of 
several  hundred  pounds  Each  festival  lasted 
nine  days  (a  novena),  and  in  many  cases  re- 
freshments for  the  public  were  provided  every 
evening.  In  the  smaller  towns  a  ball  took 
place  two  or  three  evenings  during  the  nove- 
na, and  on  the  last  day  there  was  a  grand 
dinner.  The  priest,  of  course,  had  to  be  paid 
very  liberally,  especially  for  the  sermon  de- 
livered on  the  Saint's  day  or  termination  of 
the  festivals,  sermons  being  extra  duty  in 
Brazil. 

There  was  much  difference  as  to  the  acces- 
sories of  these  festivals  between  the  interior 
towns  and  villages  and  the  capital  ;  but  little 
or  no  work  was  done  anywhere  while  they 
lasted,  and  they  tended  much  to  demoralize 
the  people.  It  is  soon  perceived  that  religion 
is  rather  the  amusement  of  the  Paraenses 
than  their  serious  exercise.  The  ideas  of  the 
majority  evidently  do  not  reach  beyond  the 
belief  that  all  the  proceedings  are,  in  each 
case,  in  honor  of  the  particular  wooden  image 
enshrined  at  the  church.  The  uneducated 
Portuguese  immigrants  seemed  to  me  to  have 


B40 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


very  degrading  notions  of  religion.  I  have 
often  travelled  in  the  company  of  these  shin- 
ing examples  of  European  enlightenment. 
They  generally  carry  with  them,  wherever 
they  go,  a  small  image  of  some  favorite  saint 
in  their  trunks  ;  and  when  a  squall  or  any 
other  danger  arises,  their  first  impulse  is  to 
rush  to  the  cabin,  take  out  the  image  and 
clasp  it  to  their  lips,  while  uttering  a  prayer 
for  protection.  The  negroes  and  mulattoes 
are  similar  in  this  respect  to  the  low  Portu- 
guese, but  I  think  they  show  a  purer  devo- 
tional feeling  ;  and  in  conversation  I  have 
always  found  them  to  be  more  rational  in  re- 
ligious views  than  the  lower  orders  of  Portu- 
guese. As  to  the  Indians,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  more  civilized  families  residing 
near  the  large  towns,  they  exhibit  no  relig- 
ious sentiment  at  all.  They  have  their  own 
patron  saint,  St.  Thome,  and  celebrate  has  an- 
niversary in  the  orthodox  way,  for  they  are 
fond  of  observing  all  the  formalities  ;  but 
they  think  the  feasting  to  be  of  equal  impor- 
tance with  the  church  ceremonies.  At  some 
of  the  festivals  masquerading  forms  a  large 
part  of  the  proceedings,  and  then  the  Indians 
really  shine.  They  get  up  capital  imitations 
of  wild  animals,  dress  themselves  to  repre- 
sent the  Caypor  and  other  fabulous  creatures 
of  the  forest,  and  act  their  parts  throughout 
with  great  cleverness.  When  St.  Thome's 
festival  takes  place,  every  employer  of  In- 
dians knows  that  all  his  men  will  get  drunk. 
The  Indian,  generally  too  shy  to  ask  directly 
for  cashaca  (rum),  is  then  very  bold  ;  he  asks 
for  a  frasco  at  once  (two  bottles  and  a  half), 
and  says,  if  interrogated,  that  he  is  going  to 
fuddle  in  honor  of  St.  Thome. 

In  the  city  of  Para,  the  provincial  govern- 
ment assists  to  augment  the  splendor  of  the 
religious  holidays.  The  processions  which 
traverse  the  principal  streets  consist,  iu  the 
first  place,  of  the  image  of  the  saint,  and 
those  of  several  other  subordinate  ones  be- 
longing to  the  same  church  ;  these  are  borne 
on  the  shoulders  of  respectable  householders, 
who  volunteer  for  the  purpose  :  sometimes 
you  will  see  your  neighbor  the  grocer  or  the 
carpenter  groaning  under  the  load.  The 
priest  and  his  crowd  of  attendants  precede 
the  images,  arrayed  in  embroidered  robes, 
and  protected  by  magnificent  sunshades — no 
Hseless  ornament  here,  for  the  heat  is  very 
great  when  the  sun  is  not  obscured.  On  each 
side  of  the  long  line  the  citizens  walk,  clad 
in  crimson  silk  cloaks,  and  holding  each  a 
large  lighted  wax  candle.  Behind  follows  a 
regiment  or  two  of  foot  soldiers  with  their 
bands  of  music,  and  last  of  all  the  crowd,  the 
colored  people  being  cleanly  dressed  and  pre- 
serving a  grave  demeanor.  The  women  are 
always  in  great  force,  their  luxuriant  black 
hair  decorated  with  jasmines,  white  orchids, 
and  other  tropical  flowers.  They  are  dressed 
in  their  usual  holiday  attire,  gauze  chemises 
and  black  silk  petticoats  ;  their  necks  are 
adorned  with  links  of  gold  beads,  which 
when  they  are  slaves  are  generally  the  prop- 
erty of  their  mistresses,  who  love  thus  to  dis- 
play their  wealth. 


At  night,  when  festivals  are  going  on  in; 
the  grassy  squares  around  the  suburban 
churches,  there  is  really  much  10  admire.  A 
great  deal  that  is  peculiar  in  the  land  and  the 
life  of  its  inhabitants  can  be  seen  best  at 
those  times.  The  cheerful  white  church  is 
brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  the  music,  not  of 
a  very  solemn  description,  peals  forth  from 
the  open  windows  and  doors.  Numbers  of 
young  gaudily-dressed  negresses  line  the 
path  to  the  church  doors  with  stands  of 
liqueurs,  sweetmeats,  and  cigarettes,  which 
they  sell  to  the  outsiders.  A  short  distance 
off  is  heard  the  rattle  of  dice-boxes  and  rou- 
lette at  the  open-air  gambling  stalls.  When 
the  festival  happens  on  moonlit  nights,  the 
whole  scene  is  very  striking  to  a  new-comer. 
Around  the  square  are  groups  of  tall  palm- 
trees,  and  beyond  it,  over  the  illuminated 
houses,  appear  the  thick  groves  of  mangoes 
near  the  suburban  avenues,  from  which  comes 
the  perpetual  ringing  din  of  insect  life.  The 
soft  tropical  moonlight  lends  a  wonderful 
charm  to  the  whole.  The  inhabitants  are  all 
out,  dressed  in  their  best.  The  upper  classes, 
who  come  to  enjoy  the  fine  evening  and  the 
general  cheerfulness,  are  seated  on  chairs 
around  the  doors  of  friendly  houses.  Theie 
is  no  boisterous  conviviality,  but  a  quiet  en- 
joyment seems  to  be  felt  everywhere,  and  a 
gentle  courtesy  rules  among  all  classes  and 
colors.  I  have  seen  a  splendidly  dressed 
colonel,  from  the  President's  palace,  walk  up 
to  a  mulatto  and  politely  ask  his  permission 
to  take  a  light  from  his  cigar.  When  the 
service  is  over,  the  church  bells  are  set  ring- 
ing, a  shower  of  rockets  mounts  upward, 
the  bands  strike  up,  and  parties  of  colored 
people  in  the  booths  begin  their  dances. 
About  ten  o'clock  the  Brazilian  national  air 
is  played,  ajid  all  disperse  quietly  and  soberly 
to  their  homes. 

At  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi  there  was 
a  very  pretty  arrangement.  The  large  green 
square  of  the  Trinidade  was  lighted  up  all 
round  with  bonfires.  On  one  side  a  tine 
pavilion  was  erected,  the  upright  posts  con- 
sisting of  real  fan-leaved  palm-trees,  the 
Mauritia  flexuosa,  which  had  been  brought 
from  the  forest,  stems  and  heads  entire,  and 
fixed  in  the  ground.  The  booth  was  illumi- 
nated with  colored  lamps,  and  lined  with  red 
and  white  cloth.  In  it  were  seated  the  ladies, 
not  all  of  pure  Caucasian  blood,  but  present- 
ing a  fine  sample  of  Para  beauty  and  fashion. 

The  grandest  of  all  these  festivals  is  that 
held  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Nazareth  :  it 
is,  I  believe,  peculiar  to  JPara.  As  I  have 
said  before,  it  falls  in  the  second  quarter  of 
the  moon,  about  the  middle  of  the  dry  sea- 
son—that is,  in  October  or  November — and 
lasts,  like  the  others,  nine  days.  On  th« 
first  day  a  very  extensive  procession  takes 
place,  starting  from  the  cathedral,  whither 
the  image  of  the  saint  has  been  conveyed 
some  days  previously,  and  terminating  at 
the  chapel  or  hermitage,  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
saint  at  Nazareth,  a  distance  of  more  than, 
two  miles.  The  whole  population  turns  out 
this  occasion,  All  the  soldiers,  both  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


641 


In  the  middle  of  it,  a  scroll  is  sud- 
on  which  is 
keding  Christ. 

This  act  is  accompanied  by  loud  groans 
which  ccme  from  stout-lunged  individuals 
concealed  in  the  vestry  and  engaged  for  the 
purpose.  The  priest  becomes  greatly  ex- 
cited, and  actually  sheds  tears.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  I  squeezed  myself  into  the 
crowd,  and  watched  the  tffect  of  the  specta- 
cle  on  the  audience.  Old  Portuguese  men 
and  Brazilian  women  seemed  vtry  much 
affected — sobbing,  beating  their  breasts,  and 
telling  their  beads.  The  negroes  behaved 
themselves  with  great  propiiety,  but  seemed 
moved  more  particularly  by  the  pomp,  the 


the  line  and  the  National  Guard,  take  part  in   church. 

i"t,  each  battalion  accompanied  by  its  band  of  deuly  unfolded  from  the  pulpit, 
music.  The  civil  authorities  also,  with  the  an  exaggerated  picture  of  the  bice 
President  at  their  head,  and  the  principal  r 
citizens,  including  many  of  the  foreign  resi- 
dents, join  in  the  line.  The  boat  of  the  ship- 
wrecked Portuguese  vessel  is  carried  after 
the  saint  on  the  shoulders  of  officers  or  men 
of  the  Brazilian  navy,  and  along  with  it  are 
borne  the  other  symbols  of  the  miracles 
which  Our  Lady  is  supposed  to  have  per- 
formed. The  procession  starts  soon  after 
the  sun's  heat  begins  to  moderate — that  is, 
about  half-past  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
When  the  image  is  deposited  in  the  chapel 
the  festival  is  considered  to  be  inaugurated, 
and  the  village  every  evening  becomes  the 
resort  of  the  pleasure-loving  population,  the 
holiday  portion  of  the  programme  being  pre- 
ceded, of  course,  by  a  religious  service  in  the 
chapel.  The  aspect  of  the  place  is  then  that 
of  a  fair  ;  without  the  humor  and  fun,  but, 
iat  the  same  time,  without  the  noise  and 
coarseness,  of  similar  holidays  in  England. 
Large  rooms  are  set  apart  for  panoramic  and 
other  exhibitions,  to  which  the  public  are 
admitted  gratis.  In  the  course  of  each  even- 
ing large  displays  of  fireworks  take  place, 
all  arranged  according  to  a  published  pro- 
gramme of  the  festival. 

The  various  ceremonies  which  take  place 
during  Lent  seemed  to  me  the  most  impress- 
ive, and  some  of  them  were  exceedingly 
well  arranged.  The  people,  both  performers 
and  spectators,  conduct  themselves  with 
more  gravity  on  these  occasions,  and  there  is 
no  holiday-making.  Performances  repre- 
senting the  last  events  in  the  life  of  Christ 
are  enacted  in  the  churches  or  streets,  in 


f'lding,  the  dresses,  and  the  general  display, 
oung  Brazilians  laughed.  Several  aborig- 
ines were  there,  coolly  looking  on.  One 
old  Indian,  who  was  standing  near  me,  said, 
in  a  derisive  manner,  when  the  sermon  was 
over.  "  It's  all  very  good  ;  better  it  could  not 
be' '  (Esta  todo  bom  ;  melhor  nao  pude  ser). 

The  negroes  of  Para  are  very  devout.  They 
have  built,  by  slow  degrees,  a  fine  church, 
as  I  was  told,  by  their  own  unaided  exer- 
tions. It  is  called  Nossa  Senhora  do  Rosario, 
or  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary.  During  the 
first  weeks  of  our  residence  at  Para,  I  fre- 
quently observed  a  line  of  negroes  and  ne- 
gresses,  late  at  night,  marching  along  the 
streets,  singing  a  chorus.  Each  carried  on 
his  or  ker  head  a  quantity  of  building  mate- 
rials— stones,  bricks,  mortar,  or  planks.  I 
found  they  were  chiefly  slaves,  who,  after 
their  hard  day's  work,  were  contributing  a 
little  toward  the  construction  of  their  church. 
The  materials  had  all  been  purchased  by  their 
own  savings.  The  interior  was  finished 


such  a  way  as  to  remind  one  of  the  old  mira-  about  a  y3ar  afterward,  and  is  decorated,  I 
c-le  plays  or  masteries.  A  few  days  before  thought,  quite  as  superbly  as  the  other 
Good  Friday,  a  torchlight  procession  takes  churches  which  were  constructed,  with  far 
place  by  night,  from  one  church  to  another,  larger  means,  by  the  old  religious  orders  more 
in  which  is  carried  a  large  wooden  image  of  than  a  century  ago.  Annually  the  negroes 
Christ  bent  under  the  weight  of  the  cross,  celebrate  the  festival  of  Nossa  Senhora  do 
The  chief  members  of  the  Gove  rnment  assist,  Rosario,  and  generally  make  it  a  complete 
and  the  whole  slowly  moves  to  the  sound  of  success, 
muffled  drums.  A  double  procession  is  man- 
aged a  few  days  afterward.  The  image  of  I  will  now  add  a  few  more  notes  which  I 
St.  Mary  is  carried  in  one  direction,  and  that  have  accumulated  on  the  subject  of  the  naU 
of  the  Saviour  in  another.  The  two  images  ural  history,  and  then  we  shall  have  done, 
meet  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  most  beauti-  for  the  present,  with  Para  and  ita  neighbor- 
ful  churches,  which  is  previously  filled  to  ex-  hood. 

cess  with  the  multitude  anxious  to  witness  I  have  already  mentioned  that  monkeys 

the  affecting  meeting  of  mother  and  son  a  were  rare  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Para, 

few  days  before  the  crucifixion.     The  images  I  met  with  three  species  only  in  the  forest 

are  brought  face  to  face  in  the  middle  of  the  near  the  city  ;   they  are  shy  animals,  and 

church,  the  crowd  falls  prostrate,  and  the  avoftl  the  neighborhood  of  towns,  where  they 

Jachrymose  sermon  is    delivered  from   the  are  subject  to  much  persecution  by  the  in- 

pulpit.    The  whole  thing,  as  well  as  many  habitants,  who  kill  them  for  food.     The  only 

other  spectacles  arranged  during  the  few  sue-  kind  which  I  saw  frequently  was  the  little 

ceeding  days,  is  highly  theatrical,  and  well  Midas   ursulus*  one   of    the    " 
calculated  to  excite  the  religious  emotions  of 
the  people,  although,   perhaps,  only  tempo- 
rarily.    On  Good  Friday  the  bells  do  not 
ring,  all  musical  sounds  are  interdicted,  and 

the  hours,  night  and  day,  are  announced  by  true  monkeys  in  their  manner  of  climbing, 

the  dismal  noise  of  wooden  clappers  wielded  The  nails,  except  those  of  the  hind  thumbs, 

by   negroes     stationed    near   the    different  are  long  and  claw-shaped  like  those  of  squir- 
churches.      A  sermon  is  delivered  in  eaci^jels,  and  the  thumbs  of  the  fore  extremities. 


Marmosets, 

family  peculiar  to  tropical  America,  and 
differing  in  many  essential  points  of  structure 
and  habits  from  all  other  apes.  They  are 
small  in  size,  and  more  like  squirrels  than 


642 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


or  hands,  are  not  opposable  to  the  other  fin- 
gers.    I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  they  have 
a  near  relationship  to  squirrels,  which  belong 
to  the  Rodents,  an  inferior  order  of  mam- 
mals ;  their  resemblance  to  those  animals  is 
merely  a  superficial  one.      They  have  two 
molar  teeth  less  in  each  jaw  than  the  Cebidse, 
the  other  family  of  American  monkeys  ;  they 
agree  with  them,  however,  in  the  sideway 
position  of  the  nostrils,  a  character  which 
distinguishes  both  from  all  the  monkeys  of 
the  old  world.    The  body  is  long  and  slender, 
clothed  with  soft  hairs,  and  the  tail,  which  is 
nearly  twice  the  length  of  the  trunk,  is  not 
prehensile.     The  hind  limbs  are  much  larger 
in  volume  than  the  anterior  pair.    The  Midas 
ursulus  is  never  seen  in  large  flocks  ;  three 
or  four  are  the  greatest  number  observed  to- 
gether.    It  seems  to  be  less  afraid  of  the 
neighborhood  of  man  than  any  other  mon- 
key.    I  sometimes  saw  it  in  the  woods  which 
border  the  suburban  streets,  and  once  I  espied 
two  individuals  in  a  thicket  behind  the  Eng- 
lish consul's  house  at  Nazare  h.     Its  mode 
of  progression  along  the  main  boughs  of  the 
lofty  trees  is  like  that  of  the  squirrel  ;  it  does 
not  ascend  to  the  slender  branches,  or  take 
those  wonderful  flying  leaps  which  the  Ce- 
bidae  do,  whose  prehensile  tails  and  flexible 
hands  fit  them  for  such  headlong  travelling. 
It  confines  itself  to  the  larger  boughs  and 
trunks  of  trees,  the  long  nails  being  of  great 
assistance  to  the  creature,  enabling  it  to  cling 
securely  to  the  bark  ;    and  it  is  often  seen 
passing  rapidly  round  the  perpendicular  cylin- 
drical trunks.     It  is  a  quick,  restless,  timid 
little  creature,  and  has  a  great  share  of  curi- 
osity, for  when  a  person  passes  by  under  the 
trees  along  which  a  flock  is  running,    they 
always  stop  for  a  few  moments  to  have  a 
stare  at  the  intruder.  In  Para,  Midas  ursulus 
is  often  seen  in  a  tame  state  in  the  houses  of 
the  inhabitants.      When  full    grown,   it    is 
about  nine  inches  long,  independently  of  the 
tail,   which  measures    fifteen    inches.     The 
fur  is  thick,  and  black  in  color,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  reddish-brown  streak  down  the 
middle  of  the  back.     When  first  taken,  or 
when  kept  tied  up,  it  is  very  timid  and  irri- 
table.     It  will  not  allow  itself  to  be  ap- 
proached,   but    keeps    retreating    backward 
when    any  one    attempts  to  coax  it.     It  is 
always  in  a  querulous  humor,  uttering  a  twit- 
tering, complaining  noise  ;  its  dark,  watch, 
ful  eyes,  expressive  of  distrust,  observant  of 
every  movement  which  takes  place  near  it. 
When  treated  kindly,  however,  as  it  generally 
is  in  the  houses  of  the  natives,  it  becomes 
very  tame  and  familiar.     I  once  saw  one  as 
playful  as  a  kitten,  running  about  the  house 
after  the  negro  children,  who  fondled  it  to 
their  hearts'   content.     It    acted    somewhat 
differently  toward  strangers,  and  seemed  not 
to  like  them  to  sit  in  the  hammock  which 
was  slung  in  the  room,  leaping  up,  trying  to 
bite,   and  otherwise  annoying   them.     It   is 
generally  fed  on  sweet  fruits,  such  as  the 
banana  ;  but  it  is  also  fond  of  insects,  espe- 
cially soft-bodied  spiders  and  grasshoppers, 
Which  it  will  snap  up  with  eagerness 


within  reach.  The  expression  of  counte- 
nance in  these  small  monkeys  is  intelligent 
and  pleasing.  This  is  partly  owing  to  the 
open  facial  angle,  which  is  given  as  one  of 
60°  ;  but  the  quick  movements  of  the  head, 
and  the  way  they  have  of  inclining  it  to  one 
side  when  their  curiosity  is  excited,  contrib- 
ute very  much  to  give  them  a  knowing  ex- 
pressioa. 

On  the  Upper  Amazons  I  once  saw  a  tame 
individual  of  the  Midas  leoninus,  a  species 
first  described  by  Humboldt,  which  was  still 
more  playful  and  intelligent  than  the  one  just 
described.  This  rare  and  beautiful  little 
monkey  is  only  seven  inches  in  length,  ex- 
clusive of  the  tail.  It  is  named  leoniuus  on 
account  of  the  long  brown  mane  which  de- 
pends from  the  neck,  and  which  gives  it  very 
much  the  appearance  of  a  diminutive  lion. 
In  the  house  where  it  was  kept  it  was  familiar 
with  every  one  ;  its  greatest  pleasure  seeming 
to  be  to  climb  about  the  bodies  of  diffeient 
persons  who  entered.  The  first  time  I  went 
in,  it  ran  across  the  room  straight  way  to  the 
chair  on  which  I  had  sat  down,  and  climbed 
up  to  my  shoulder  ;  arrived  there,  it  turned 
round  and  looked  into  my  face,  showing  its- 
little  teeth,  and  chattering,  as  though  it; 
would  say,  "Well,  and  how  do  you  do?"' 
It  showed  more  affection  toward  its  master 
than  toward  strangers,  and  would  climb  up- 
to  his  head  a  dozen  times  in  the  course  of  an 
hour,  making  a  great  show  every  time  of 
searching  there  for  certain  animalculse.  Isi- 
dore Geoff  roy  St.  Hilaire  relates  of  a  species 
of  this  genus,  that  it  distinguished  between 
different  objeeis  depicted  on  an  engraving. 
M.  Audouin  showed  it  the  portraits  of  a  cat 
and  a  wasp  ;  at  these  it  became  much  terri- 
fied :  whereas,  at  the  sight  of  a  figure  of  a 
grasshopper  or  beetle,  it  precipitated  itself 
on  the  picture,  as  if  to  seize  the  objects  there 
represented. 

Although  monkeys  are  now  rare  in  a  wild 
state  near  Para,  a  great  number  may  be  seen 
semi-domesticated  in  the  city.  The  Brazil- 
ians are  fond  of  pet  animals.  Monkeys, 
however,  have  not  been  known  to  breed  in 
captivity  in  this  country.  I  counted,  in  a 
short  time,  thirteen  different  species,  while 
walking  about  the  Para  streets,  either  at  the 
doors  or  windows  of  houses,  or  in  the  native 
canoes.  Two  of  them  I  did  not  meet  with 
afterward  in  any  other  part  of  the  country. 
One  of  these  was  the  well-known  Hapale 
Jacchus,  a  little  creature  resembling  a  kitten, 
banded  with  black  and  gray  all  over  the  body 
and  tail,  and  having  a  fringe  of  long  white 
hairs  surrounding  the  ears.  It  was  seated 
on  the  shoulder  of  a  young  mulatto  girl,  as 
she  was  walking  along  the  street,  and  I  was 
told  had  been  captured  in  the  island  of  Mara- 
jo.  The  other  was  a  species  of  Cebus,  with  a 
remarkably  large  head.  It  had  ruddy-brown 
fur,  paler  on  the  face,  but  presenting  a 
blackish  tuft  on  the  top  of  the  forehead. 

In  the  wet  season  serpents  are  common  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Para.  One  morning,  in 
April,  1849,  after  a  night  of  deluging  rain. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


645 


the  lamplighter,  on  his  rounds  to  extinguish 
the  lamps,  knocked  me  up  to  show  me  a 
boa-constrictor  he  had  just  killed  in  the  Rua 
St.  Antonio,  not  far  from  my  door.  He  had 
cut  it  nearly  in  two  with  a  large  knife,  as  it 
was  making  its  way  down  the  sandy  street. 
Sometimes  the  native  hunters  capture  boa- 
constrictors  alive  in  the  forest  near  the  city. 
We  bought  one  which  had  been  taken  in  this 
way,  and  kept  it  for  some  time  in  a  laige  box 
under  our  veranda.  This  is  not,  however, 
the  largest  or  most  formidable  seipent  found 
in  the  Amazons  region.  It  is  far  iufeiior,  in 
these  respects,  to  the  hideous  Sucuiujti,  or 
Water  Boa  (Eunectes  marinus),  which  some- 
times attacks  man  ;  but  of  this  I  shall  have 
to  give  an  account  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

It  frequently  happened,  in  pnssiug  through 
the  thickets,  that  a  snake  would  fall  from 
the  boughs  close  to  me.  Once  I  got  for  a 
few  moments  completely  entangled  in  the 
folds  of  one,  a  wonderfully  slender  kind, 
being  nearly  six  feet  in  length,  and  not  more 
than  half  an  inch  in  diameter  at  its  broadest 
part.  It  was  a  species  of  Diyophis.  The 
majority  of  the  snakes  seen  we  re  innocuous. 
One  day,  however,  I  trod  on  the  tail  of  a 
young  fceipent  belonging  to  a  very  poisonous 
kind,  the  Jararaca  (Cra^pedotcphalus  atrox). 
It  tumid  round  and  bit  my  trousers  ;  and  a 
young  Indian  lad,  who  was  behind  me,  dex- 
terously cut  it  through  with  his  knife  before 
it  had  time  to  free  itself.  In  seme  seasons 
snakes  are  \  ery  abundant,  and  it  often  struck 
me  as  stiange  that  accidents  did  not  occur 
more  frequently  than  was  the  case. 

Amcng  the  most  curious  snakes  found  here 
were  the  Amphisbsense,  a  genus  allied  to  the 
slow  worm  of  Europe.  Seveial  species  occur 
at  Para.  Those  brought  to  me  wei  e  ge  nerally 
not  much  more  than  a  feot  in  length.  They 
are  of  cj'Iindrical  shape,  having,  properly 
speaking,  no  neck  ;  anci  ihe  blunt  tail,  which 
is  only  about  aa  inch  in  length,  is  of  the  same 
8hape  as  the  head.  This  peculiar  form, 
added  to  their  habit  of  wriggling  backward 
as  well  as  forward,  has  given  rise  to  the  fable 
that  they  have  two  heads,  one  at  each  ex- 
tremity. They  are  extremely  sluggish  in 
their  motions,  end  are  clothed  with  scales 
that  have  the  form  of  small  imbedded  plates 
arranger!  in  rings  round  the  body.  The  eye 
is  so  small  as  to  be  scai  cely  perceptible.  They 
live  habitually  in  the  subterranean  chambers 
of  the  Saiiba  ant ;  only  coming  out  of  their 
abodes  occasionally  in  the  night  lime.  The 
natives  call  the  Amphisbsena  the  "Mai  das 
Saiibas,"  or  3Io1her  of  the  Saiibas,  and  be- 
lieve it  to  be  poisonous,  although  it  is  per- 
fectly harmless.  It  is  one  of  the  many  curi- 
ous animals  which  have  become  the  subject 
of  mythical  stories  with  the  natives.  They 
Bay  the  ants  treat  it  wi'h  great  affection,  and 
that  if  the  snake  be  taken  away  from  a  nest, 
the  Saiibas  will  forsake  the  spot.  I  once 
took  one  quite  whole  out  of  the  body  of  a 
young  Jararaca,  the  poisonous  species  already 
alluded  to,  whose  body  was  so  distended  with 
its  contents  that  the  skin  was  stretched  out 
to  a  film  over  the  contained  Amphisbama.  1 


was,  unfortunately,  not  able  to  ascertain  the 
exact  relation  which  subsists  between  these- 
curious  snakes  and  the  Saiiba  ants.  I  be- 
lieve, however,  they  feed  upon  the  Saiibas, 
for  I  once  found  remains  of  anls  in  the 
stomach  of  one  of  them.  Their  motions  are 
quite  peculiar  ;  the  undilatable  jaws,  small 
eyes,  and  curious  plated  integument  also  dis- 
tinguish them  from  other  snakes.  These1 
properties  have  evidently  some  relation  to 
their  residence  in  the  subterranean  abodes  of 
ants.  It  is  now  well  ascertained  by  natural- 
ists, that  some  of  the  most  anomalous  forms, 
among  coleopterous  insects  are  those  which, 
live  solely  in  the  nests  of  anls,  and  it  is  curi- 
ous that  an  abnormal  form  of  snakes  should, 
also  be  found  in.  the  society  of  these  insects. 
The  neighborhood  of  Para  is  rich  in  in- 
sects. I  do  not  speak  of  the  number  of  in- 
dividuals, which  is  probably  less  than  one* 
meet?,  with,  excepting  ants  and  Termites,  in 
Bummer  days  in  temperate  latitudes  ;  but  the 
variety,  or  in  other  words,  the  number  of 
species,  is  very  great.  It  will  convey  some 
idea  of  the  diversity  of  butterflies  when  I 
mention  that  about  700  species  of  that  tribe 
are  found  within  an  hour's  walk  of  the 
town  ;  while  the  total  number  found  in  the 
British  Islands  does  not  exceed  66,  and  the 
whole  of  Europe  supports  only  321.  Some 
of  the  most  showy  species,  such  as  the  swal- 
low-tailed kinds,  Papilio  Polycaou,  Tboas, 
Torquatus,  and  others,  are  seen  flying  about, 
the  streets  and  gardens ;  sometimes  they 
come  through  the  open  windows,  attracted 
b}'  flowers  in  the  apartments.  Those  species 
of  Papilio  which  are  most  characteristic  of 
the  country,  so  conspicuous  in  their  velvety- 
black,  green,  and  rose-colored  hues,  which.. 
Liuna3us,  in  pursuance  of  his  elegant  system. 
of  nomenclature — naming  the  different  kind* 
after  the  heroes  of  Greek  mythology — called 
Trojans,  never  leave  the  shades  of  the  forest. 
The  splendid  metallic  blue  Morphos,  some  of 
which  measure  seven  inches  in  expanse,  are 
generally  confined  to  the  shady  valley  of  the 
forest.  'They  sometimes  come  forth  into  Ihe 
broad  sunlight.  When  we  first  went  to  look 
at  our  new  residence  in  Nazareth,  a  Morpho 
Menelaus,  one  of  Ihe  most  beautiful  kinds, 
was  seen  flapping  its  huge  winds  like  a  bird 
along  the  veranda.  This  species,  however, 
although  much  admired,  looks  dull  in  color 
by  the  side  of  its  congener,  the  Morpho  Rlie- 
tenor,  whose  wings,  on  the  upper  face,  are 
of  quite  a  dazzling  lustre.  Rhetenor  usually 
prefers  the  broad  sunny  roads  in  the  foiest, 
and  is  an  almost  unattainable  prize,  on  ac- 
count of  its  lofty  flight ;  for  it  very  rarel}' 
descends  nearer  the  ground  than  about  twenty 
feet.  When  it  comes  sailing  along,  it  occa- 
sionally haps  its  wings,  and  then  the  blue 
surface  flashes  in  the  sunlight,  so  that  it  is 
visib'e  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off.  There  is 
another  species  of  this  genus,  of  a  satiny' 
white  hue,  the  Morpho  Uraneis  ;  this  is 
equally  difficult  to  obtain  ;  the  male  only  has 
the  satiny  lustre,  the  female  being  of  a  pale- 
lavender  color.  It  is  in  the.  height  of  the  dry- 
season  that  the  greatest  number  and  variety 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


•of  butterflies  are  found  in  the  woods  ;  espe- 
cially when  a  shower  falls  at  intervals  of  a 
few  days.  An  infinite  number  of  curious  and 
Tare  species  may  then  be  taken,  most  diversi- 
fied in  habits,  mode  of  flight,  colors,  and 
markings  :  .some  yellow,  others  bright  red, 
.green,  purple,  and  blue,  aud  many  bordered 
or  spangled  with  metallic  lines  and  spots  of 
4i  silvery  or  golden  lustre.  Some  have  wings 
trausparent  as  glass  ;  one  of  these  clear-wings 
is  especially  beautiful,  namely,  the  HetaBra 
J^smeralda  ;  it  has  one  spot  only  of  opaque 
^coloring  on  its  wings,  which  is  of  a  violet  and 
rose  hue  ;  this  is  the  only  part  visible  when 
the  insect  is  flying  low  over  dead  leaves,  in 
the  gloomy  shades  where  alone  it  is  found, 
-and  it  then  looks  like  a  wandering  petal  of  a 
flower. 

Bees  and  wasps  are  not  especially  numer- 
ous near  Para,  and  I  will  reserve  an  account 
•of  their  habits  for  a  future  chapter.  Many 
species  of  Mygale,  those  monstrous  hairy 
.spiders,  half  a  foot  in  expanse,  which  attract 
the  attention  so  much  in  museums,  are  found 
in  sandy  places  at  Nazareth.  The  different 
kinds  have  the  most  diversified  habits.  Some 
^construct,  among  the  tiles  or  thatch  of 
iiouses,  dens  of  closely-woven  web,  which,  in 
texture,  very  much  resembles  fine  muslin  ; 
these  are  often  seen  crawling  over  the  walls 
of  apartments.  Others  build  similar  nests  in 
trees,  and  are  known  to  attack  birds.  One 
very  robust  fellow,  the  Mygale  Blondii,  bur- 
rows into  the  earth,  forming  a  broad  slant- 
ing gallery,  about  two  feet  long,  the  sides  of 
Avhlch  he  lines  beautifully  with  silk.  He  is 
nocturnal  in  his  habits.  Just  before  sunset 
be  may  be  seen  keeping  watch  within  the 
-mouth  of  his  tunnel,  disappearing  suddenly, 
when  he  hears  a  heavy  foot-tread  near  his 
hiding-place.  The  number  of  spiders  orna- 
mented with  showy  colors  was  somewhat  re- 
markable. Some  double  themselves  up  at 
the  base  of  leaf-stalks,  so  as  to  resembte  flow- 
er-buds, aud  thus  deceive  the  insects  on  which 
they  prey.  The  most  extraordinary-looking 
spider  was  a  species  of  Acrosorna,  which  had 
two  curved  bronze-colored  spines,  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  length,  proceeding  from  the  tip 
of  its  abdomen.  It  spins  a  large  web,  the 
monstrous  appendages  being  apparently  DO 
impediment  to  it  in  its  work  ;  but  what  their 
use  can  be  I  am  unable  to  divine. 

Coleoptera,  or  beetles,  at  first  seemed  to  be 
-very  scarce.  This  apparent  scarcity  has 
been  noticed  in  other  equatorial  countries, 
and  arises,  probably,  from  the  great  heat  of 
the  suu  not  permitting  them  to  exist  in  ex- 
posed situations,  where  they  form  such  con- 
spicuous objects  in  Europe.  Many  hundred 
species  of  the  different  families  can  be  found, 
when  they  are  patiently  searched  for  in  the 
shady  places  to  which  they  are  confined.  It 
is  vain  to  look  for  the  Geodephaga,  or  car- 
nivorous beetles,  under  stones,  or  anywhere, 
indeed,  in  open,  sunny  places.  The  terres- 
trial forms  of  this  interesting  family,  which 
abound  in  England  and  temperate  countries 

icrally,  are  scarce  in  the  neighborhood  of 
in  fact  I  met  with  only  four  or  five 


*  species  ;  on  the  other  hand  the  purely  arbo- 
real kinds  were  rather  numerous.  The  con- 
trary of  this  happens  in  northern  latitudes, 
where  the  great  majority  of  the  species  and 
genera  are  exclusively  terrestrial.  The  arbo- 
real forms  are  distinguished  by  the  structure 
of  the  feet,  which  have  broad  spongy  spies 
and  toothed  claws,  enabling  them  to  climb 
over  and  cling  to  branches  and  leaves.  The 
remarkable  scarcity  of  ground  beetles  is, 
doubtless,  attributable  to  the  number  of  ants 
and  Termites  which  people  every  inch  of  sur- 
face in  all  shady  places,  and  which  would 
most  likely  destroy  the  larva?  of  Coleoptera. 
Moreover  these  active  creatures  have  the 
same  functions  as  Coleoptera,  and  thus  ren- 
der their  existence  unnecessary.  The  large 
proportion  of  climbing  forms  of  carnivorous 
beetles  is  an  interesting  fact,  because  it 
affords  another  instance  of  the  arboreal  char- 
acter which  animal  forms  tend  to  assume  in 
equinoctial  America,  a  circumstance  which 
points  to  the  slow  adaptation  of  the  Fauna  to 
a  forest-clad  country,  throughout  an  immense 
lapse  of  geological  time. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  TOCANTINS   AND   CAMETA. 

Preparations  for  the  journey— The  Bay  of  Goajara— 
Grove  of  fan-leaved  palms— The  lower  Tocantins— 
Sketch  of  the  river — Vista  alegre — BaiaO— Rapids — 
Boat  journey  to  the  Guariba  Falls— Native  life  on 
the  Tocantins— Second  journey  to  Caineta. 

August  2Qtk,  1848.— Mr.  Wallace  and  I 
started  to-day  on  the  excursion  which  1  have 
already  mentioned  as  having  been  planned 
with  Mr.  Leavens,  up  the  river  Tocantins, 
whose  mouth  lies  about  forty-five  miles  in  a 
straight  line,  but  eighty  miles  following  the 
bends  of  the  river  channels,  to  the  south-west 
of  Para.  This  river,  as  before  stated,  has  a 
course  of  1600  miles,  and  stands  third  in  rank 
among  the  streams  which  form  the  Amazons 
system.  The  preparations  for  the  journey 
took  a  great  deal  of  time  and  trouble.  We 
had  first  to  hire  a  proper  vessel,  a  two-masted 
vigilinga  twenty-seven  feet  long,  with  a  flat 
prow  and  greath  breadth  of  beam,  and  fitted 
to  live  in  heavy  seas  ;  for  although  our  voy- 
age was  only  a  river  trip,  there  were  vast  sea- 
like  expanses  of  water  to  traverse.  It  was 
not  decked  over,  but  had  two  arched  awnings 
formed  of  strong  wickerwork,  and  thatched 
with  palm-leaves.  We  had  then  to  stoil  it 
with  provisions  for  three  months,  the  time 
we  at  first  intended  to  be  away  ;  procure  the 
necessary  passports  ;  and,  lastly,  engage  a 
crew.  Mr.  Leavens,  having  had  much  ex- 
perience in  the  country,  mauaged  all  these 
matters.  He  brought  two  Indians  from  the 
rice-mills,  and  these  induced  another  to  enroll 
himself.  We,  on  our  parts,  took  our  cook, 
Isidoro,  and  a  young  Indian  lad,  named  An- 
tonio, who  had  attached  himself  to  us  in  the 
course  of  our  residence  at  Nazareth.  Our 
principal  man  was  Alexandro,  one  of  Mr. 
Leavens's  Indians.  He  was  an  intelligent 
and  well-disposed  youug  Tapuyo,  an  expert 
sailor  and  an  indefatigable  hunter.  To  his 
fidelity  we  were  indebted  for  being  enabled 
-to  carry  out  any  of  the  objects  of  our  voy- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


age.  being  a  native  of  a  district  near  the 
capital,  Alexandra  was  H  civilized  Tapuyo,  a 
citizen  a.s  free  as  his  white  neighbors.  He 
spoke  only  Poituguese.  He  was  a  spare- 
built  man,  rather  under  the  middle  height, 
with  fine  regular  features,  and,  what  was 
unusual  in  Indians,  the  upper  lip  decorated 
with  a  mustache.  Three  years  afterward  I 
tuw  him  at  Para  in  the  uniform  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard,  and  he  called  on  me  often  to 
talk  about  eld  times.  I  esteemed  him  as  a 
quiet,  sensible,  manly  young  fellow. 

We  set  sail  in  the  evening,  after  waiting 
several  hours  in  vain  for  one  of  our  crew,  it 
vus  soon  da:k,  the  wind  blew  stiffly,  and  the 
tide  rushed  along  wilh  great  rapidity,  carry- 
ing us  swiftly  past  the  crowd  of  vessels 
which  were  anchored  in  the  port.  The 
canoe  rolled  a  good  deal.  After  we  had 
made  five  or  six  miles  of  way  the  tide  turned, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  cast  anchor.  Not 
long  after,  we  laid  ourselves  down  all  three 
together  on  the  mat,  which  was  spread  over 
the  flour  of  our  cabin,  and  soon  fell  asleep. 

On  awakiug  at  sunrise  the  next  morning, 
we  found  cui selves  gliding  upward  with  the 
tide,  along  the  Bahia  or  Ba3r,  as  it  is  called, 
of  Goajara.  This  is  a  broad  channel  lying 
between  the  mainland  and  a  line  of  islands 
which  extend  some  distance  beyond  the  city. 
Into  it  three  large  riveis  dischaige  their 
waters,  namely,  the  Guama,  the  Acara,  and 
the  Moju  ;  so  that  it  foims  a  kind  of  EUO- 
estuary  within  the  grand  esluaiy  of  Para.  It 
is  neaily  four  miles  broad.  The  left  bank, 
along  which  we  were  now  sailing,  was  beau- 
tiful in  the  extreme  ;  not  an  inch  of  soil  was 
1o  be  seen  ;  the  water  frontage  piesented  a 
compact  wall  of  rich  and  varied  forest,  rest- 
ing on  the  surface  of  the  stream.  It  seemed 
to  form  a  finished  border  to  the  water  scene, 
where  the  dome-like,  rounded  shapes  of  ex- 
ogenous trees  which  constituted  the  mass 
formed  the  groundwork,  and  the  endless  di- 
versity of  broad-leaved  Heliconian  and  Palms 
— each  kind  differing  in  stem,  crown,  and 
fronds — the  rich  embroideiy.  The  morning 
was  calm  and  cloudless  ;  and  the  slanting 
beams  of  the  early  sun,  striking  full  en  the 
front  of  the  forest,  lighted  up  the  whole  most 
gloriously.  The  cnly  sound  of  life  which 
reached  us  was  the  call  of  the  Serracura 
(Gallinula  Cayennensis),  a  kind  of  wild  fcwl ; 
all  else  was  so  still  that  the  voices  of  boatmen 
could  be  plainly  heard,  from  canoes  passing 
a  mile  or  two  distant  fiom  us.  The  sun  soon 
gains  great  power  on  the  water,but  with  it  the 
sea-bieeze  increases  in  strength,  inoderatiDg 
the  heat  which  would  other  wise  be  almost  in 
supportable.  We  reached  the  end  of  the 
Goajara  about  midday,  and  then  ( ntered  the 
narrower  channel  of  'the  Moju.  Up  this  we 
tiavelled,  partly  rowing  and  partly  sailing, 
between  the  same  unbroken  walls  of  forest, 
until  the  morning  of  the  28th.  , 

August  29<A.— The  Moju,  a  stream  little 
iaferior  to  the  Thames  in  size,  is  connected 
about  twenty  miles  from  its  mouth,  by  means 
of  a  short  artificial  canal,  with  a  small 
stream,  the  Tgarape-mirim.  which  flows  Uie 


opposite  way  into  the  water  S)su-inof  the. 
Tocantins.  Small  vessels  like  GUIS  take  this 
route  in  preference  to  the  stormy  passage  by 
way  of  the  main  river,  although  the  distance 
is  considerably  greater.  We  passed  through 
the  canal  yesterday,  and  to-day  have  been 
threading  our  way  through  a  labyrinth  of  nai- 
row  channels,  their  banks  all  clothed  with  the 
same  magnificent  forest,  but  agreeably  varied 
by  houses  of  planters  and  settlers.  We  passed 
many  quite  large  establishments,  besides  one^ 
pretty  little  village  called  Santa  Anna.  All 
these  channels  are  washed  through  by  the 
tides — the  ebb,  contrary  to  what  takes  place 
in  the  short  canal,  setting  toward  the  Tocan- 
tins. The  water  is  almost  tepid  (77°  Fahr.), 
and  the  rank  vegetation  all  around  seems 
reeking  with  moisture.  The  country,  how- 
ever, as  we  were  told,  is  perfectly  healthy. 
Some  of  the  houses  are  built  on  wooden  piles/ 
driven  into  the  mud  of  the  swamp. 

In  the  afternoon  we  leached  the  end  of  tlm- 
last  channel,  called  the  Murutipucu,  which 
runs  for  several  miles  between  two  unbroken 
lines  of  fan-leaved  palms,  forming  with  their 
straight  stems  colossal  palisades.     On  round- 
icg  a  point  of  land  we  came  in  full  view  of 
the  Tocantins.      The  event  was  announced 
by  one  of  our  Indians,  who  was  on  the  look- 
out at  the  prow,  shouting,  "  Laesta  o  Purana- 
uassvi  !"      "  Behold    the  great    river  !"      It, 
was  a  grand  sight — a  broad  expanse  of  dark 
waters  dancing  merrily  to  the  breeze  ;  the 
opposite  shore,  a  narrow   blue    line,   miles 
away. 

We  went  ashore  on  an  island  covered  with, 
palm-trees,  to  make  a  fire  and  boil  our  ket- 
tle for  tea.  1  wandered  a  shoit  way  inland, 
and  was  astounded  at  the  prospect.  The  land 
lay  below  the  upper  level  of  the  daily  tides, 
so  that  there  was  no  underwood,  and  tlm 
ground  wus  bare.  The  trees  weie  almost  all 
of  one  species  of  Palm,  the  gigantic  fan- 
leaved  Mauritia  flexuosa ;  on  the  borders 
only  was  there  a  small  number  of  a  second 
kind,  the  equally  remarkable  Ubussu  palm 
(Manic-aria  saccifera).  The  U  hussu  has  erect, 
uncut  leaves,  twenty-five  feet  long,  and  six 
feet  wide,  all  arranged  round  the  top  of  a 
four-feet  high  stenC  so  as  to  form  a  figure 
like  that  of  a  colossal  shuttlecock.  The  fan- 
leaved  palms,  which  clothed  nearly  the  entire 
islet,  had  huge  cylindrical  smooth  ste.r.s, 
three  feet  in  diameter,  and  about  a  hundred 
feet  high.  The  crowns  were  formed  of  enor- 
mous clusters  of  fan-shaped  leaves,  the  stalks 
alone  of  which  measured  seven  to  tea  feet  in 
length.  Nothing  in  the  vegetable  world 
could  be  more  imposing  than  this  grove  of 
palms.  There  was  no  underwood  to  obstruct 
the  view  of  the  long  perspective  of  towering 
columns.  The  crowns,  which  were  densely 
packed  together  at  an  immense  height  over- 
head, shut  out  the  rays  of  the  sun  ;  and  tho 
gloomy  solitude  beneath,  through  which  tin 
sound  of  our  voices  seemed  to  reverberate, 
could  be  compared  to  nothing  so  well  as  a 
solemn  temple.  The  fruits  of  the  two  paims 
were  scattered  over  the  ground  ;  those  of  the- 
Ubu8«d  adhere  together  by  twos  anJ  threes 


THE  NATURALIST  ON 


RIVER  AMAZONS. 


h«*.o  »*  rough,  brown-colored  shell ;  the 
iiuit  of  the  Mauritia,  on  the  contrary,  is  of  a 
.Aright  red  hue,  and  the  skin  is  impressed 
with  deep  crossing  lines,  which  give  is  a  re- 
.semblance  to  a  quilted  cricket-ball. 

About  midnight,  the  tide  being  favorable 
and  the  breeze  strong,  we  crossed  the  river, 
taking  it  in  a  slanting  direction,  a  distance 
of  sixteen  miles,  and  arrived  at  eight  o'clock 
the  following  morning  at  Cameta.     This  is  a 
town  of  some  importance  pleasantly  situated 
on  the  somewhat  high  terra  firma  of  the  left 
bank  of  the  Tocantins.     I  will  defer  giving 
41  n  account  of  the  place  till  the  end  of  this 
narrative  of  our  Tocantins  voyage.     We  lost 
here  another  of  our  men,  who  got  drinking 
with  some  old  companions  ashore,  and  were 
obliged  to  start  on  the  difficult  journey  up 
the  river  with  two  hands  only,  and  they  in 
«,  very  dissatisfied  humor  with  the  prospect. 
The  river  view  from  Cameta  is  magnifi- 
cent.    The  town  is  situated,  as  already  men- 
tioned, on  a  high  bank,  which  forms  quite  a 
considerable  elevation  for  this  flat  country, 
and  the  broad  expanse  of  dark-green  waters 
is  studded  with  low,  palm-clad  islands  ;  the 
prospect  down  river,  however,  being  clear, 
or  bounded  only  by  a  sea-like  horizon  of 
Tvater  and  sky.     The  shores  are  washed  by 
the  breeze-tossed  waters  into  little  bays  and 
-creeks,  fringed  with  sandy  beaches.      The 
Tocantins  has  been  likened,  by  Prince  Adal- 
bert of  Prussia,   who  crossed  its  mouth  in 
1846,  to  the  Ganges.     It  is  upward  of  ten 
miles  in    breadth    at  its  mouth ;    opposite 
•Cameta  it  is  five  miles  broad.     Mr.  Burchell, 
the  well-known  English  traveller,  descended 
the  river  from  the  mining  provinces  of  in- 
terior Brazil  some  years  before  our  visit. 
Unfortunately,  the  utility  of  this  fine  stream 
is  impaired  by  the  numerous  obstructions  to 
its  navigation  in  the  shape  of  cataracts  and 
rapids,  which  commence,  in  ascending,  at 
*ibout  120  miles  above  Cameta,  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  sequel. 

August  30th. — Arrived,  in  company  witb 
Senhor  Laroque,  an  intelligent  Portuguese 
merchant,  at  Vista  Alegre,  fifteen  miles  above 
Cameta.  This  was  the  residence  of  Senhor 
Antonio  Ferreira  Gomez,  and  was  a  fair  sam- 
ple of  a  Brazilian  planter's  establishment  in 
this  part  of  the  country.  The  buildings 
covered  a  wide  space,  the  dwelling-house 
being  separated  from  the  place  of  business, 
and  as  both  were  built  on  low,  flooded  ground, 
the  communication  between  the  two  was  by 
means  of  a  long  wooden  bridge.  From  the 
office  and  visitors'  apartments  a  wooden  pier 
extended  into  the  river.  The  whole  was 
raised  on  piles  above  high-water  mark. 
There  was  a  rude  mil?  for  grinding  sugar- 
cane, worked  by  bullocks  ;  but  cashaga,  or 
rum,  was  the  only  article  manufactured  from 
the  juice.  Behind  the  buildings  was  a  small 
piece  of  ground  cleared  from  the  forest,  and 
planted  with  fruit-trees,  orange,  lemon,  gen- 
ipapa,  goyava,  and  others  ;  and  beyond  this, 
a  broad  path  through  a  neglected  plantation 
of  coffee  and  cacao,  ted  to  several  large  sheds, 
where  the  farinha  or  mandiocm  meal  was 


manufactured.  The  plantations  or  mandioca 
are  always  scattered  about  in  the  forest,  some 
of  them  being  on  islands  in  the  middle  of  the 
river.  Land  being  plentiful,  and  the  plough, 
as  well  as,  indeed,  nearly  all  other  agricul- 
tural implements,  unknown,  the  same  ground 
is  not  planted  three  years  together  ;  but  a 
new  piece  of  forest  is  cleared  every  alternate 
year,  and  the  old  clearing  suffered  to  relapse 
into  jungle. 

We  stayed  here  two  days,  sleeping  ashore 
in  the  apartment  devoted  to  strangers.  As 
usual  in  Brazilian  houses  of  the  middle  class, 
we  were  not  introduced  to  the  female  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  and,  indeed,  saw  nothing 
of  then  except  at  a  distance.  In  the  forest 
and  thickets  about  the  place  we  were  toler- 
ably successful  in  collecting,  finding  a  num- 
ber of  birds  and  insects  which  do  not  occur 
at  Para.  I  saw  here,  for  the  first  time,  the 
,«!*.}•  bluf*  Chatterer  (Ampelis  cotiuga).  It 
was  on  the  topmost  bough  of  a  very  lofty 
tree,  and  completely  out  cf  the  reach  of  an 
ordinary  fowling-piece.  The  beautiful  light- 
blue  color  of  its  plumage  was  plainly  discern- 
ible at  that  distance.  It  is  a  dull,  quiet  bird. 
A  much  commoner  species  was  the  Cigana 
or  Gypsy  (Opisthocomus  cristalus),  a  bird  be- 
longing to  the  same  order  (Gallinacea)  as  our 
domestic  fowl.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a 
pheasant;  the  plumage  is  dark  brown,  varied 
with  reddish,  and  the  head  is  adorned  with  a 
crest  of  long  feathers.  It  is  a  remarkable 
bird  in  many  respects.  The  hind  toe  is  riot 
placed  high  above  the  level  of  the  other  toes, 
as  it  is  in  the  fowl  order  generally,  but  lies 
on  the  same  plane  with  them  ;  the  shape  of 
the  foot  becomes  thus  suited  to  the  purely 
arboreal  habits  of  the  bird,  enabling  it.  to 
grasp  firmly  the  branches  of  trees.  This  is  a 
distinguishing  character  of  all  the  birds  in. 
equinoctial  America  which  represent  the 
fowl  and  pheasant  tribes  of  the  old  world, 
and  affords  another  proof  of  the  adaptation 
of  the  Fauna  to  a  forest  region.  The  Cigana 
Jives  in  considerable  flocks  on  the  lower  trees 
and  bushes  bordering  the  streams  and  lagoons, 
and  feeds  on  various  wild  fruits,  especially 
the  sour  Goya  va(Psidi  urn  sp.).  The  natives 
say  it  devours  the  fruit  of  arborescent  Arums 
(Caladium  arborescens),  which  grow  in 
crowded  masses  around  the  swampy  banks 
of  lagoons.  Its  voice  is  a  harsh,  grating 
hiss  ;  it  makes  the  noise  when  alarmed,  all 
the  individuals  sibilating  as  they  fly  heavily 
away  from  tree  to  tree,  when  disturbed  by 
passing  canoes.  It  is  polygamous,  like  other 
members  of  the  same  order.  It  is  never, 
however,  by  any  chance,  seen  on  the  ground, 
and  is  nowhere  domesticated.  The  flesh  has 
an  unpleasant  odor  of  musk  combined  with 
wet  hides — a  smell  called  by  the  Brazilians 
cfetinga  ;  it  is,  therefore,  uneatable.  If  it  be 
as  unpalatable  to  carnivorous  animals  as  it  is 
to  man,  the  immunity  from  persecution 
which  it  would  thereby  enjoy  would  account 
for  its  existing  in  such  great  numbers 
throughout  the  country. 

We  lost  here  another  of  our  crew  ;  and 
_thus.  ac  the  commencement  of  our  voyage, 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 

had  bc..v,_e  u.       }  prospect  of  being  forced  to    the  wuiei  -k-vel  with  bag  and  bagfe«6e,  cross- 
return,  from  sueer'waut  of  bands  to  manage     inS  broad  reaches  of  river.     Most  of  them 
the  canoe.     Senhor  Gomez,  to  whom  we  had    have  houses  also  on  the  terra  firma,  and  re- 
brought  letters  of  introduction  from  Senhor    s'de  in  the  cool  palm-swamps  of  the  ^gap6- 
JoaO  Augusto  Correia,  a  Brazilian  gentleman     islands,  as  they  are  called,  only  in  the  hot  anii 
of  high  standing  at  Para,  tried  what  he  could    dry  season.     They  live  chiefly  on  fish,  shell- 
do  to  induce  the  canoe-men  of  his  neighbor-     nsh  (among  which  were  large  Ampul  larra?,. 
hood  to  engage  with  us,  but  it  was  a  vain  en-    whose  flesh  I  found,  on  trial,  to  be  a  very 
deavor.     The  people  of  these  parts  seemed  to    tough  morsel),  the  never-failing  farinha,  and 
be  above  working  for  wages.     They  are  nat-    the  fruits  of  the  forest.     Among  the  latter  the 
urally  indolent,  and  besides,  have  all  some    fruits  of  the  palm-tree  occupied  the  chief 
little  business  or  plantation  of  their  own,    place.     The  Assai  is  the  most  in  use,  but  this, 
which  gives  them  a  livelihood  with  indepen-    *orms  a  universal  article  of  diet  in  all  parts  of' 
dence.     It  is  difficult  to  obtain  hands  under    the  country.     The  fruit,  which  is  perfectly 
any  circumstances,  but  it  was  particularly  so    round,  and  about  the  size  of  a  cherry,  con- 
in  our  case,  from  being  foreigners,  and  sus-    tains  but  a  small  portion  of  pulp  lying  be- 
pected,  as  was  natural  among  ignorant  people,    tween  the  skin  and  the  hard  kernel.     This  is- 
of  being  strange  in  our  habits.    At  length    made,  with  the  addition  of  water,   into  a. 
our  host  lent  us  two  of  his  slaves  to  help  us    thick,  violet-colored  beverage,  which  stains 
on  another  stage,  namely,  to  the  village  of    the  lips  like  blackberries.     The  fruit  of  the 
BaiaO,  where  we  had  great  hopes  of  having   Miriti  is  also  a  common  article  of  food,  al- 
this,  our  urgent  want,  supplied  by  the  mill-    though  the  pulp  is  sour  and  unpalatable,  at  t 
tary  commandant  of  the  district.  least  to  European  tastes.     It  is  boiled,  and  ' 

September  2d. — The  distance  from  Vista  then  eaten  with  farinha.  The  Tucuma  (As- 
Alegre  to  BaiaO  is  about  twenty-five  miles,  trocaryum  tucuma),  and  the  Mucuja  (Aero- 
We  had  but  little  wind,  and  our  men  were  comia  lasiospatha),  grow  only  on  the  main- 
therefore  obliged  to  row  the  greater  part  of  land.  Their  fruits  yield  a  yellowish,  fibrous* 
the  way.  The  oars  used  in  such  canoes  as  PU^P.  which  the  natives  eat  in  the  same  way 
ours  are  made  by  tying  a  stout  paddle  to  the  as  the  Miriti.  They  contain  so  much  fatty 
end  of  a  long  pole  by  means  of  woody  lianas,  matter  that  vultures  and  dogs  devour  them 
The  men  take  their  stand  on  a  raised  deck,  greedily. 

formed  by  a  few  rough  planks  placed  over  Early  on  the  morning  of  September  3d  we= 
the  arched  covering  in  the  fore  part  of  the  reached  the  right  or  eastern  bank,  which  is- 
vessel,  and  pull  with  their  backs  to  the  stern,  here  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  high.  The 
We  started  at  six  A.M.,  and  about  sunset  houses  were  more  substantially  built  than 
reached  a  point  where  the  west  channel  of  the  those  we  had  hitherto  seen.  We  succeeded 
river,  along  which  we  had  been  travelling  in  buying  a  small  turtle  ;  most  of  the  inhabi- 
since  we  left  Cameta,  joined  a  broader  mid-  tants  had  a  few  of  these  animals,  which  they 
die  one,  and  formed  with  it  a  great  expanse  kePt  in  little  inctosures  made  with  stakes, 
of  water.  The  islands  here  seem  to  form  The  people  were  of  the  same  class  every, 
two  pretty  regular  lines,  dividing  the  great  ^here,  mamelucos.  They  were  very  civil  ~ 
river  into  three  channels.  As  we  progressed  we  were  not  able.however,  to  purchase  much, 
slowly,  we  took  the  montaria  and  went  fresh  food  from  them.  I  think  this  was; 
ashore,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  houses,  owing  to  their  really  not  having  more  than 
which  were  numerous  on  the  river  banks  as  was  absolutely  required  to  satisfy  their  own 
well  as  on  the  larger  islands.  In  low  situ-  needs.  In  these  districts,  where  the  peoplo 
ations  they  had  a  very  unfinished  appear-  depend  for  animal  food  solely  on  fishing, 
ance,  being  mere  frameworks  raised  high  on  there  is  a  period  of  the  year  when  they  suffer 
wooden  piles,  and  thatched  with  the  leaves  hunger,  so  that  they  are  disposed  to  prize; 
of  the  Ubussu  palm.  In  their  construction  highly  a  small  stock  when  they  have  it.  They 
another  palm-tree  is  made  much  use  of,  viz.,  generally  answered  in  the  negative  when  we 
the  Assai  (Euterpe  olearcea).  The  outer  part  asked,  money  in  hand,  whether  they  had 
of  the  stem  of  this  species  is  hard  and  tough  fowls,  turtles,  or  eggs  to  sell,  "  NaO,  ha,  siuto* 
as  horn  ;  it  is  split  into  narrow  planks,  and  Que  na5  posso  Ihe  ser  bom  ;"  or,  "  NaO  ha, 
these  form  a  great  portion  of  the  walls  and  meu  coracao. "  "  We  have  none  ;  I  am  sorry  I 
flooring.  The  residents  told  us  that  the  west-  cannot  oblige  you ;"  or,  "  There  is  none,  my 
ern  channel  becomes  nearly  dry  in  the  mid-  heart." 

die  of  the  fine  season,  but  that  at  high  water,  September  3d  to  7th.— At  half  past  eight 
in  April  and  May,  the  river  rises  to  the  level  A-M-  we  arrived  at  BaiaO.  which  is  built  on  av 
of  the  house-floors.  The  river  bottom  is  verv  high  Lank,  and  contains  about  400  in- 
every  where  sandy,  and  the  country  perfectly  habitants.  We  hail  to  climb  to  the  village- 
healthy.  The  people  seemed  to  be  all  con-  UP  a  -adder,  which  is  fixed  agaiust  the  bank, 
tented  and  happy,  but  idleness  and  poverty  au^  on  arriving  at  the  top,  took  possession  of" 
were  exhibited  by  many  unmistakable  signs.  a  r°°m  which  Seuhor  Seixas  had  given  ordera. 
As  to  the  flooding  of  their  island  abodes,  to  be  prepared  for  us.  He  himself  was  away 
they  did  not  seem  to  care  about  that  at  all.  at  his  sitio,  and  would  not  be  here  till  the* 
They  seem  to  be  almrst  amphibious,  or  as  next  day.  Wo  were  now  quite  dependent 
much  at  home  on  the  water  as  on  land.  It  on  him  for  men  to  enable  us  to  continue  our* 
was  really  alarming  to  see  men  and  women  voyage,  and  so  hal  ir>  remedy  but  to  wait, 
and  children,  in  little  leaky  canoes  laden  10  his  leisure.  Tha  situation  of  liiu  place,  and 


648 


THE  NATURALIST   ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


nature  of  the  woods  around  it,  promised 
well  for  novelties  in  birds  and  insects  ;  so  we 
:had  no  reason  to  be  vexed  at  the  delay,  but 
brought  our  apparatus  and  store-boxes  up 
from  the  canoe,  and  set  to  work. 

The  easy,  lounging  life  of  the  people 
.amused  us  very  much.  I  afterward  had 
plenty  of  time  to  become  used  to  tropical  vil- 
Jage  life.  There  is  a  free,  familiar,  pro  bono 
publico  style  of  living  in  these  small  places, 
which  requires  some  time  for  a  European  to 
:fall  into.  No  sooner  were  we  established  in 
-our  rooms  than  a  number  of  lazy  young  fel- 
:lows  came  to  look  on  and  make  remarks,  and 
we  had  to  answer  all  sorts  of  questions. 
The  houses  have  their  doors  and  windows 
open  to  the  street,  and  people  walk  in  and 
out  as  they  please  ;  there  is  always,  however, 
21  more  secluded  apartment,  where  the  female 
•members  of  the  families  reside.  In  their 
ifamiliarity  there  is  nothing  intentionally 
-offensive,  and  it  is  practiced  simply  in  the 
•desire  to  be  civil  and  sociable.  A  young 
isnamcluco,  named  Scares,  an  Escrivao,  or 
^public  clerk,  took  me  into  his  house  to  show 
.ime  his  library.  I  was  rat  her  surprised  to  see 
-a  number  oc  well-thumbed  Latin  classics, 
Virgil,  Tereace,  Cicero's  Epistles,  and  Livy. 
I  was  not  familiar  enough,  at  this  early  period 
•of  my  residence  in  the  country,  with  Portu- 
guese to  converse  freely  with  Senhor  Soares, 
'Or  ascertain  what  use  he  made  of  these 
'books  ;  it  was  an  unexpected  sight,  a  classi- 
cal library  in  a  mud-plastered  and  palm- 
^t hatched  hint  on  the  banks  of  the  Tocantius. 

The  prospect  from  the  village  was  magnifi- 
cent, overthegreen  wooded  islands,  far  away 
to  the  gray  line  of  forest  on  the  opposite  shore 
of  the  Tocantins.  We  were  now  well  out  of 
ithe  low  alluvial  country  of  the  Amazons 
^proper,  and  the  climate  was  evidently  much 
•drier  than  it  is  near  Para.  They  had  had  no 
rain  here  for  many  weeks,  and  the  atmos- 
phere was  hazy  around  the  horizon  ;  so  much 
rso  that  the  sun,  before  setting,  glared  like  a 
l?lood-rcd  globe.  At  Para  this  never  hap- 
pens ;  the  stars  and  sun  are  as  clear  and 
sharply  defined  when  they  peep  above  the 
^distant  tree-tops  as  they  are  at  the  aenith. 
This  beautiful  transparency  of  the  air  arises, 
'doubtless,  from  the  equal  distribution  through 
it  of  invisible  vapor.  I  shall  ever  remember, 
an  oue  of  my  voyages  along  the  Para  river, 
t he  g i  and  spectacle  that  was  once  presented 
•at  sunrise.  Our  vessel  was  a  large  schooner, 
:and  we  were  bounding  along  before  a  spank- 
ing breeze,which  tossed  the  waters  into  foam, 
•when  the  day  dawned.  So  clear  was  the 
vair  that  the  lower  rim  of  the  full  moon  re- 
auained  sharply  defined  until  it  touched  the 
western  horizon,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
.sun  rose  in  the  east.  The  two  great  orbs 
-were  visible  at  the  same  time,  ana  the  pas- 
:sage  from  the  moonlit  night  to  day  was  so 
.rgeDtle  that  it  seemed  to  be  only  the  brighten- 
Sng  of  dull  weather.  The  woods  around 
IBaiaG  were  of  second  growth,  the  ground 
laving  been  formerly  cultivated.  A  great 
aiumber  of  coffee  and  cotton-trees  grew 
iamong  the  thickets.  A  fine  woodland  path^. 


way  extends  for  miles  over  the  high,  undulat- 
ing bank,  leading  from  one  house  to  another 
along  the  edge  of  the  cliff.  I  went  into  se,v 
eral  of  them,  and  talked  to  their  inmates. 
They  were  all  poor  people.  The  men  were 
out  fishing,some  far  away,  a  distance  of  many 
days'  journey  ;  the  women  plant  mandioca, 
make  the  farinha,  spin  and  weave  cotton, 
manufacture  soap  of  burnt  cacao-shells  and 
andiroba  oil,  and  follow  various  other 
domestic  employments.  1  asked  why  they 
allowed  their  plantations  to  run  to  waste. 
They  said  that  it  was  useless  trying  to  plant 
anything  hereabout ;  the  Saiiba  ant  devour- 
ed the  young  coffee-trees,  and  every  one  who 
attempted  to  contend  against  this  universal 
ravager  was  sure  to  be  defeated.  The  coun- 
try, for  many  miles  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  seemed  to  be  well  peopled.  The  in- 
habitants were  nearly  all  of  the  tawny-white 
mameluco  class.  I  saw  a  good  many  mulat- 
toes,  but  rery  few  negroes  and  Indians,  and 
none  that  could  be  called  pure  whites. 

When  Senhor  Seixas  arrived,  he  acted  very 
kindly.  He  provided  us  at  once  with  two 
men,  killed  an  ox  in  our  honor,  and  treated 
us  altogether  with  great  consideration.  We 
were  not,  however,  introduced  to  his  family. 
I  caught  a  glimpse  once  of  his  wife,  a  pretty 
little  mameluco  woman,  as  she  was  tripping 
with  a  young  girl,  whom  I  supposed  to  be 
her  daughter,  across  the  back  yard.  Both 
wore  long  dressing-gowns,  made  of  bright- 
colored  calico  print,  and  had  long  wooden 
tobacco-pipes  in  their  mouths.  l"he  room  in 
which  we  slept  and  worked  had  formerly 
served  as  a  storeroom  for  cacao,  and  at  night 
I  was  kept  awake  for  hours  by  rats  and  cock- 
roaches, which  swarm  in  all  such  places. 
The  latter  were  running  about  all  over  the 
walls  ;  now  and  then  one  would  come  sud- 
denly with  a  whirr  full  at  my  face,  and  get 
under  my  shirt  if  I  attempted  to  jerk  it  off. 
As  to  the  rats,  they  were  chasing  one  another 
by  dozens  all  night  long,  over  the  floor, 
up  and  down  the  edges  of  the  doors,  and 
along  the  rafters  of  the  open  roof. 

September  1th.  —We  started  from  BaiaO  at 
an  early  hour.  One  of  our  new  men  was  a 
good-humored,  willing  young  mulatto,  named 
Jose  ;  the  other  was  a  sulky  Indian,  called 
Manoel,  who  seemed  to  have  been  pressed 
into  our  service  against  his  will.  Senhor 
Seixas,  on  parting,  sent  a  quantity  of  fresh 
provisions  on  board.  A  few  miles  above 
Baiao  the  channel  became  very  shallow  ;  we 
got  aground  several  times,  and  the  men  had 
to  disembark  and  shove  the  vessel  off. 
Alexandro  here  shot  several  fine  fish,  with 
bow  g,nd  arrow.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had 
seen  fish  captured  in  this  way.  The  arrow 
is  a  reed,  with  a  steel-barbed  point,  which  is 
fixed  in  a  hole  at  the  end,  and  secured  by  fine 
twine  made  from  the  fibres  of  pineapple 
leaves.  It  is  only  in  the  clearest  water  that 
fish  can  be  thus  shot ;  and  the  only  skill  re- 
quired is  to  make,  in  taking  aim,  the  proper 
allowance  for  refraction. 

The  next  day  before  sunrise  a  fine  breeze 
^sprang  up,  and  the  men  awoke  and  set  the 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


sails.  We  glided  all  day  through  channels 
between  islands  with  long  white  sandy- 
beaches,  over  which,  now  and  then,  aquatic 
and  wading  birds  were  seen  running.  The 
forest  was  low,  and  had  a  harsh,  dry" aspect. 
Several  palm-trees  grew  here  which  we  had 
not  before  seen.  On  low  bushes,  near  the 
water,  pretty  red-headed  tanagers  (tauagra 
gularis)  were  numerous,  flitting  about  and 
chirping  like  sparrows.  About  half  past 
four  P.M.  we  brought  to  at  the  mouth  of  a 
creek  or  channel,  where  theie  was  a  great 
extent  of  sandy  beach.  The  sand  had  been 
blown  by  the  wind  into  ridges  and  undula- 
tions, and  over  the  moister  paits  large  flocks 
of  sandpipers  \vere  running  about.  Alexan- 
dro  and  I  had  a  long  ramble  over  the  rolling 
plain,  which  came  as  an  agreeable  change 
after  the  monotonous  forest  scenery  amid 
which  we  had  been  so  long  travelling.  He 
pointed  out  to  me  the  tracks  of  a  huge  jaguar 
on  the  sand.  We  found  here,  also,  our  first 
turtle's  nest,  and  obtained  120  eggs  from  it, 
which  were  laid  at  a  depth  of  nearly  two  feet 
from  the  surface,  the  mother  first  excavating 
a  hole,  and  afterward  covering  it  up  with 
sand.  The  place  is  discoverable  only  by  fol- 
lowing the  tracks  of  the  turtle  from  the 
Water.  I  saw  here  an  alligator  for  the  first 
time,  which  reared  its  head  and  shoulders 
above  the  water  just  after  I  had  taken  a  bath 
near  the  spot.  The  night  was  calm  and 
cloudless,  and  we  employed  the  hours  before 
bedtime  in  angling  by  moonlight. 

On  the  lOtu  we  leached  a  small  settlement 
called  Patos,  consisting  of  about  a  dozen 
houses,  and  built  on  a  high  rocky  bank,  on 
the  eastern  shore.  The  rock  is  the  same 
nodular  conglomerate  which  is  found  at  so 
many  places,  from  the  sea-coast  to  a  distance 
of  COO  miles  up  the  Amazons.  Mr.  Leavens 
made  a  last  attempt  here  to  engage  men  to 
accompany  us  to  the  Araguaya  ;  but  it  was 
in  vain  :  not  a  soul  could  be  induced  by  any 
amount  of  wages  to  go  oil  such  an  expe- 
dition. The  reports  as  to  the  existence  of 
cellar  were  very  vague.  All  said  that  the 
tree  was  plentiful  somewhere,  but  no  one 
could  fix  on  the  precise  locality.  I  believe 
that  the  cedar  grows,  like  all  other  forest 
trees,  in  a  scattered  way,  and  not  in  masses 
anywhere.  The  fact  of  its  being  the  princi- 
pal tree  observed  floating  down  with  the  cur- 
icntof  the  Amazons,  is  to  be  explained  by 
its  wood  being  much  lighter  than  that  of  the 
majority  of  trees.  When  the  banks  are 
washed  away  by  currents,  trees  of  all  species 
fall  into  the  river  ;  but  the  heavier  ones, 
which  are  the  most  numerous,  sink,  and  the 
lighter,  such  as  the  cedar,  alone  float  down 
lo  the  sea. 

Mr.  Leavens  was  told  that  there  were 
cedar  trees  at  Trocara,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  near  some  fine  rounded  hills 
covered  with  forest,  visible  from  Palos  ;  so 
there  we  went.  We  found  here  several  fam- 
ilies encamped  in  a  delightful  spot.  The 
shore  sloped  gradually  down  to  the  water, 
and  was  shaded  by  a  few  wide  spreading 
trees.  There  was  no  underwood.  A 


number  of  hammocks  were  seen  slung  be- 
tween the  tree-trunks,  and  the  litter  of  a  nu- 
merous household  lay  scattered  about. 
Women,  old  and  young,  some  of  the  latter 
very  good-looking,  and  a  large  number  or 
children,  beside  pet  animals,  enlivened  the? 
encampment.  They  were  all  half-breeds, 
simple,  well-disposed  people,  and  explained 
to  us  that  they  were  inhabitants  of  Cameta, 
who  had  come  thus  far.  eighty  miles,  to  spend 
the  summer  months.  The  only  motive  they 
could  give  for  coming  was,  "  that  it  was  so 
hot  in  the  town  in  the  veraO  (summer),  an  I 
they  were  all  so  fond  of  fresh  fish."  Thus 
these  simple  folks  think  nothing  of  leaf  ing- 
home  and  business  to  come  on  a  three 
months'  picnic.  It  is  the  annual  custom  of" 
this  class  of  people,  throughout  the  province, 
to  spend  a  few  months  of  the  fine  season  in 
the  wilder  parts  of  the  country.  They  carry 
with  them  all  the  farinha  they  can  set  ape  to- 
gether, this  being  the  only  article  of  food 
necessary  to  provide.  The  men  hunt  and  fisli 
for  the  day's  wants,  and  sometimes  collect  a 
little  india-rubber,  sarsaparilla,  or  copaiba, 
oil,  to  sell  to  traders  on  their  return  ;  tho 
women  assist  in  paddling  the  canoes,  do  ther 
cooking,  and  sometimes  fish  with  rod  and 
line.  The  weather  is  enjoyable  the  whole? 
time,  and  so  days  and  weeks  pass  happily- 
away. 

One  of  the  men  volunteered  to  walk  with: 
us  into  the  forest,  and  show  us  a  few  cedar- 
trees.  We  passed  through  a  mile  or  two  of" 
spiny  thickets,  and  at  length  came  upon  the. 
banks  of  the  rivulet  Trocara,  which  flows 
over  a  stony  bed,  and,  about  a  mile  above  its, 
mouth,  falls  over  a  ledge  of  rocks,  thus  form- 
ing a  very  pretty  cascade.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood we  found  a  number  of  specimens  of  a 
curious  laud-sheil.  a  large  flat  Helix,  with  a. 
labyrinthine  mouth  (Anastoma).  We  learned 
afterward  that  it  was  a  species  which  had 
been  discovered  a  few  years  previously  by 
Dr.  Gardner,  the  botanist,  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  Tocantins. 

We  saw  here,  for  the  first  time,  the  splen- 
ded  hyaointhine  macaw  (Macrocercus  hya- 
cinthiuus,  Lath.,  the  Ararunaof  the  natives),, 
one  of  the  finest  and  rarest  species  of  ther 
Parrot  family.  It  only  occurs  in  tho  interior 
of  Brazi),  from  16°  S.  lat.  to  the  southern 
border  of  the  Amazons  valley.  It  is  Lhree= 
feet  long  from  the  beak  to  the  tip  of  the  tail, 
and  is  entirely  of  a  soft  hyacinthine  blua 
color,  except  round  the  eyes,  where  tlu  skin 
is  naked  and  white.  It  flies  in  pairs,  ami 
feeds  on  the  hard  nuts  of  several  palms,  but- 
especially  of  the  Mucuja  (Acrocomia  lasiospa- 
tha).  These  nuts,  which  are  so  hard  as  lo  be. 
dirticult  to  break  with  a  heavy  hammer,  are 
crushed  to  a  pulp  by  the  powerful  beak  wf 
this  macaw. 

Being-  unable  to  obtain  men,  Mr.  Leaven* 
now  gave  up  his  project  of  ascending  the: 
river  as  far  as  the  Araguaya.  He  assented 
to  our  request,  however,  to  ascend  to  the  cat- 
aracts near  Arroyos.  We  started  therefore; 
from  Patos  with  a  more  definite  aim  before: 
us  than  we  had  hitherto  had.  The  river  be.- 


NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVEK  AMAZONS. 


-canio  m  >re  picturesque  as  we  advanced. 
The  water  was  very  low,  it  being  now  the 
.height  of  the  dry  season  ;  the  islands  were 
smaller  than  those  further  down,  and  some 
«)f  them  were  high  and  rocky.  Bold  wooded 
fluffs  projected  into  the  stream,  and  all  the 
.-shores  were  fringed  with  beaches  of  glisten- 
ing white  sand.  On  one  side  of  the  river 
there  was  an  extensive  grassy  plain  or  campo 
with  isolated  patches  of  trees  scattered  over 
:it.  On  the  14th  and  following  day  we 
•stopped  several  times  to  ramble  ashore.  Our 
longest  excursion  was  to  a  large  shallow  la- 
.goon,  choked  up  with  aquatic  plants,  which 
.lay  about  two  miles  across  the  campo.  At  a 
place  called  Juquerapua  we  engaged  a  pilot 
to  conduct  us  to  Arroyos,  and  a  few  miles 
ab  >ve  the  pilot's  house,  arrived  at  a  point 
where  it  was  not  possible  to  advance  further 
in  our  large  canoe,  on  account  of  the  rapids. 

September  \Qth. — Embarked  at  six  A.M.  in  a 
-large  montaria  which  had  been  lent  to  us  for 
this  part  of  the  voyage  by  Senhor  Seixas, 
.leaving  the  vigilinga  anchored  close  to  a 
rocky  islet,  named  Santa  Anna,  to  await  our 
return.  A  ten  A.M.  we  arrived  at  the  first 
rapids,  which  aie  called  Tapaiunaquara. 
'The  river,  which  was  here  about  a  mile  wide, 
was  choked  up  with  rocks,  a  broken  ridge 
passing  completely  across  it.  Between  these 
•confused  piles  of  stone  the  currents  were 
feat  fully  strong,  and  formed  numerous  ed- 
dies and  whirlpools.  We  were  obliged  to  get 
put  occasionally  and  walk  from  rock  to  rock, 
while  the  men  dragged  the  canoe  over  the 
obstacles.  Beyond  Tapaiunaquara  the  stream 
became  again  broad  and  deep,  and  the  river 
scenery  was  beautiful  in  the  extreme.  The 
water  was  clear,  and  of  a  bluish-green  color. 
On  both  sides  of  the  stream  stretched  ranges 
of  wjoded  hills,  and  in  the  middle  picturesque 
rislets  rested  on  the  smooth  water.whose  brill- 
iant green  woods  fringed  with  palms  formed 
•charming  bits  of  foreground  to  the  perspec- 
tive of  sombre  hills  fading  into  gray  in  the  dis- 
tance. Joaquim  pointed  out  to  us  grove  after 
grove  of  Brazil-nut-trees  (Bertbolletia  ex- 
xjelsa)  on  the  mainland.  This  is  one  of  the 
«hief  collecting  grounds  for  this  nut.  The 
tree  is  one  of  the  loftiest  in  the  forest,  tower- 
ing far  above  its  fellows  ;  we  could  see  the 
wo'xly  fruits,  large  and  round  as  cannon- 
tmlls,  dotted  over  the  branches.  The  cur- 
rents were  very  strong  in  some  places,  so  that 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  way  the  men 
pivf"-recl  to  travel  near  the  shore,  and  oro- 
>p<;l  the  boat  by  means  of  long  poles. 

We:  an  ived  at  Arroyos  about  four  o'clock 
i  i  Ih  ;  afternoon,  after  ten  hours'  hard  pull. 
'Tin  plactt  consists  simply  of  a  few  houses 
•luiilt  on  a  high  bank,  and  forms  a  station 
wher -.;  canoe-men  from  the  mining  countries 
•of  t lie  interior  of  Brazil  stop  to  rest  them- 
selves before  or  after  surmounting  the 
drea  led  falls  and  rapids  of  Guaribas,  situated 
a  couple  of  miles  further  up.  We  dined 
.-.ashore,  and  in  the  evening  again  embarked 
to  vi>it  the  falls.  The  vigorous  and  success- 
ful way  in  which  our  men  battled  with  the 
terrific  currents  excited  our  astonishment. 


The  bed  of  the  river,  here  about  a  mne  wide, 
is  strewn  with  blocks  of  various  sizes,  which 
lie  in  the  most  irregular  manner,  and  be- 
tween them  rush  currents  of  more  or  less 
rapidity.  With  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  place  and  skilful  management,  the  falls 
can  be  approached  in  small  canoes  by  thread- 
ing the  less  dangerous  channels.  The  main 
fall  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  ;  we 
climbed  to  an  elevation  overlooking  it,  and 
,had  a  good  view  of  the  cataract.  A  body  of 
j  water  rushes  with  terrific  force  down  a  steep 
slope,  and  boils  up  with  deafening  roar 
around  the  boulders  which  obstruct  its  course. 
The  wildness  of  the  whole  scene  was  very 
impressive.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
stretched  range  after  range  of  wooded  hills, 
scores  of  miles  of  beautiful  wilderness,  in- 
habited only  by  scant}'  tribes  of-wild  Indians. 
In  the  midst  cf  such  a  solitude  the  roar  of 
the  cataract  seemed  fitting  music. 

September  17th. — We  commenced  early  in 
the  morning  our  downward  voyage. 
Arroyos  is  situated  in  about  4°  10'  S.  lat., 
and  lies,  therefore,  about  130  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Tocantins.  Fifteen  miles 
above  Guaribas  another  similar  cataiact, 
called  Tabocas,  lies  across  the  river.  We 
were  told  that  there  were  in  all  fifteen  of 
these  obstrur  tions  to  navigation  between 
Arroyos  and  the  mouth  of  the  Araguaya. 
The  worst  was  the  Inferno,  the  Guarihas 
standing  second  to  it  in  evil  reputation. 
Many  canoes  and  lives  have  been  lost  here, 
most  of  Hie  accidents  arising  through  the 
vessels  be.ng  hurled  against  an  enormous 
cubical  mass  of  rock  called  the  Guaribinha, 
which  we,  on  our  trip  to  the  falls  in  the 
small  canoe,  passed  round  with  the  greatest 
ease  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  main 
falls.  This,  however,  was  the  dry  season  ; 
in  the  time  of  full  waters  a  tremendous  cur- 
rent sets  against  it.  We  descended  the  river 
rapidly,  and  found  it  excellent  fun  shooting 
Hie  rapids.  The  men  seemed  to  delight  in 
choosing  the  swiftest  parts  of  the  current  ; 
they  sang  and  yelled  in  the  greatest  excite- 
ment, working  the  paddles  with  great  force, 
and  throwing  clouds  of  spray  above  us  as  we 
bounded  downward.  We  stopped  to  rest  at 
the  mouth  of  a  rivulet  named  Caganxa.  The 
pilot  told  us  that  gold  had  been  found  in  the 
bed  of  this  brook  ;  so  we  had  the  curiosity 
to  wade  several  hundred  yards  through  the 
icy  cold  waters  in  search  of  it.  Mr.  Leavens 
seemed  very  much  interested  in  the  matter  ; 
he  picked  up  all  the  shining  stones  he  could 
espy  in  the  pebbly  bottom,  in  hopes  cf  find- 
ing diamonds  also.  There  is,  in  fact,  no 
reason  "why  both  gold  and  diamonds  should 
not  be  found  here,  the  hills  being  a  continu- 
ation of  those  of  the  mining  countries  of  in- 
terior Brazil,  and  the  brooks  flowing  through 
the  narrow  valleys  between  them. 

On  arriving  at  the  place  where  we  had  left 
our  canoe,  we  stayed  all  night  and  part  of 
the  following  day*  and  I  had  a  stroll  along  a 
delightful  pathway,  which  led  over  hill  and 
dale,  two  or  three  miles  through  the  forest. 
I  was  surprised  at  the  number  variety  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


631 


"brilliantly-colored  butterflies  ;  they  were  all 
of  small  size,  and  started  forth  at  every  step 
1  took,  from  the  low  bushes  which  bordered 
the  road.  1  first  heard  here  the  notes  of  a 
trogon  :  it  was  seated  alone  on  a  branch,  at 
no  great  elevation  ;  a  beautiful  bird,  with 
glossy-green  back  and  rose-colored  breast 
{probably  Trogon  inelanurus).  At  intervals 
it  utteied,  in  a  complaining  tone,  a  sound  re- 
sembling the  words  "qua,  qua."  It  is  a 
dull  inactive  bird,  and  not  very  ready  to  lake 
ifight  when  approached.  In  this  respect, 
iowever,  the  trogons  are  not  equal  to  the 
jacatnars,  whose  stupidity  in  remaining  at 
their  posts,  seated  on  low  branches  in  the 
gloomiest  shades  of  the  forest,  is  somewhat 
rematkable  in  a  country  where  all  other  biids 
are  exceedingly  wary.  One  species  of 
jacarnar  was  not  uncommon  here  (Galbula 
viridis)  ;  I  sometimes  saw  two  or  three  to- 
gether, seated  on  a  slender  branch,  silent  and 
motionless  with  the  exception  of  a  slight 
movement  of  the  head  ;  when  an  insect  flew 
past  within  a  short  distance,  one  of  the  birds 
would  dart  off,  seize  it,  and  return  again  to 
its  sitting-place.  The  trogons  are  found  in 
the  tropics  of  both  hemispheres  ;  the  jaca- 
mars,  which  are  clothed  in  plumage  of  the 
most  beautiful  golden-bronze  and  steel  col- 
ors, are  peculiar  to  tropical  America. 

At  night  1  slept  ashore  as  a  change  from 
the  confinement  of  the  canoe,  having  ob- 
tained permission  from  Senhor  Joaquim  to 
sling  my  hammock  under  his  roof.  The 
house,  ifke  all  others  in  these  out-of-the-way 
parts  of  the  country,  was  a  large,  open, 
palm-thatched  shed,  having  one  end  inclosed 
by  means  of  partitions,  also  made  of  palm- 
leaves,  so  as  to  form  a  private  apaitment. 
Under  the  shed  were  placed  all  the  household 
utensils  ;  earthenware  jars,  pots,  and  ket- 
tles, hunting  and  fishing  implements,  pad- 
•dles,  bows  and  arrows,  harpoons,  and  so 
fvrth.  One  or  two  common  wooden  chests 
serve  to  contain  the  holiday  clothing  of  the 
females  ;  there  is  no  other  furniture,  except 
n  few  stools  and  the  hammock,  which  an- 
swers the  purposes  of  chair  and  sofa.  When 
a  visitor  enters,  he  is  asked  to  sit  down  in  a 
hammock  :  persons  who  are  on  intimate 
terms  with  each  other  recline  together  in  the 
same  hammock,  one  at  each  end  ;  this  is  a 
very  convenient  arrangement  for  friendly 
conversation.  There  are  neither  tables  nor 
chairs  ;  the  cloth  for  meals  is  spread  on  a 
mat,  anil  the  guests  squat  round  in  any  po- 
-sition  they  choose.  There  is  no  cordiality  of 
manners,  but  the  treatment  of  the  guests 
shows  a  keen  sense  of  the  duties  of  hospi- 
tality on  the  part  of  the  host.  There  is  a 
good  deal  of  formality  in  the  intercourse  of 
these  half-wild  mamelucos,  which,  I  believe, 
has  been  chiefly  derived  from  their  Indian 
forefathers,  although  a  little  of  it  may  have 
been  copied  from  the  Portuguese. 

A  little  distance  from  the  house  were  the 
open  sheds  under  which  the  farinlm  for  the 
use  of  the  establishment  was  manufactured. 
In  the  centre  of  each  shed  stood  the  shallow 
jpans,  made  of  clay  and  built  over  ovens. 


where  the  meal  Is  roasted.  A  long  flexible 
cylinder  made  of  the  peel  of  a  marantaceous 
plant,  plaited  into  the  proper  form,  hung  sus- 
pended from  a  beam  ;  it  is  in  this  that  the 
pulp  of  the  mandioca  is  pressed,  and  from  it 
the  juice,  which  is  of  a  highly  poisonous  na- 
ture, although  the  pulp  is  wholesome  food, 
runs  into  pans  placed  beneath  to  receive  it. 
A  wooden  trough,  such  as  is  used  in  all 
these  places  for  receiving  the  pulp  before  the 
poisonous  matter  is  extracted,  stood  on  the 
ground,  and  from  the  posts  hung  the  long 
wicker-work  baskets,  or  aturas,  in  which 
the  women  carry  the  roots  from  the  n>c,a  or 
Ctauing ;  a  broad  ribbon  made  from  the 
inner  bark  of  the  monguba-tree  is  attached 
to  the  rims  of  the  baskets,  and  is  passed 
round  the  forehead  of  the  carriers,  to  relieve 
their  backs  in  supporting  the  heavy  load. 
Around  the  shed  weie  planted  a  number  of 
banana  and  other  fruit  trees  ;  among  them 
were  the  never  -  failing  capsicum-pepper 
bushes,  brilliant  as  holly-trees  at  Christmas 
time,  with  their  fiery-red  fruit,  and  lemon- 
trees  ;  the  one  supplying  the  pungent,  the 
other  the  acid,  for  sauce  to  the  perpetual 
meal  of  fish.  There  is  never  in  such  places 
any  appearance  of  careful  cultivation,  no 
garden  or  orchard  ;  the  useful  trees  are  sur- 
rounded by  weeds  and  bushes,  and  close  be- 
hind rises  the  everlasting  forest. 

In  descending  the  river  we  landed  fre- 
quently, and  Mr.  Wallace  and  I  lost  no 
chance  of  adding  to  our  collections  ;  so  that 
before  the  end  of  our  journey  we  had  got  to- 
gether a  very  considerable  number  of  birds, 
insects,  and  shells,  chiefly  taken,  however,  in 
the  low  country.  Leaving  BaiaO,  we  took  our 
last  farewell  of  the  limpid  waters  and  varied 
scenery  of  the  upper  river,  and  found  our- 
selves again  in  the  humid  flat  region  of  the 
Amazons  valley.  We  sailed  down  this  lower 
part  of  the  river  by  a  different  channel  from 
the  one  we  travelled  along  in  ascending,  and 
frequently  went  ashore  on  the  low  islands  in 
mid-r:.ver.  As  already  stated,  these  are  cov- 
ered with  water  in* the  wet  season  ;  but  at 
this  time,  there  having  been  three  months  of 
fine  weather,  they  weie  dry  throughout,  and, 
by  the  subsidence  of  the  waters,  placed  tour 
or  five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  They 
are  covered  with  a  most  luxuriant  forest, 
comprising  a  large  number  of  india-rubbei 
trees.  We  found  several  people  encamped 
here,  who  were  engaged  in  collecting  and 
preparing  the  rubber,  and  thus  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  the  process. 

The  tree  which  yields  this  valuable  sap  is 
the  siphonia  elastica,  a  member  of  the  Euphor- 
biaceous  order  ;  it  belongs,  therefore,  to  a 
group  of  plants  quite  different  from  that 
which  furnishes  the  caoutchouc  of  the  East 
Indies  and  Africa.  This  latter  is  the  product 
of  different  species  of  Ficus,  and  is  consid 
ered,  1  believe,  in  commerce  »n  inferior  arti- 
cle to  the  india-rubber  of  Para.  The  siphonia 
elastica  grows  only  on  the  lowlands  in  the 
Amazons  legion  ;  hitherto  the  rubber  has 
been  collected  chiefly  in  the  islawds  and 
swampy  parts  of  the  mainland  within  a  dis- 


652 


_HE  NATURALIST  OK  1 'HE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


tance  of  fl  ty  to  a  hundred  miles  to  the  west 
of  Para  ;  but  there  are  plenty  of  untapped 
trees  still  growing  in  the  wilds  of  the  Tapa- 
jos,  Madeira,  Jufua,  and  Jaurai,  as  far  as  1800 
miles  from  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  tree  is 
not  remarkable  in  appearance  ;  in  bark  and 
foliage  it  is  not  unlike  th'e  European  ash  ; 
but  the  trunk,  like  that  of  all  forest  trees, 
shoots  up  to  an  immense  height  before  throw- 
ing off  branches.  The  trees  seem  to  be  no 
man's  property  hereabout.  The  people  we 
met  with  told  us  they  came  every  year  to 
collect  rubber  on  these  islands,  as  soon  as 
the  waters  had  subsided,  namely,  in  August, 
and  remained  till  January  or  February.  The 
process  is  very  simple.  Every  morning  each 
person,  man  or  woman,  to  whom  is  allotted 
a  certain  number  of  trees,  goes  the  round  of 
the  whole,  and  collects  in'a  large  vessel  the 
milky  sap  which  trickles  from  gashes  made 
in  the  bark  on  the  preceding  evening  and 
which  is  received  in  little  clay  cups,  or  in 
ampullaria  shells  stuck  beneath  the  wounds. 
The  sap,  which  at  first- is  of  the  consistence 
of  cream,  soon  thickens  ;  the  collectors  are 
provided  with  u  great  number  of  wooden 
moulds  of  the  shape  in  which  the  rubber  is 
wanted,  and  when  they  return  to  the  camp 
they  dip  them  into  the  liquid  lay  ing  on,  in  the 
course  of  several  days,  one  coat  after  another. 
When  this  is  done,  the  substance  is  white 
and  hard  ;  the  proper  color  and  consistency 
are  given  by  passing  it  repeatedly  through  a 
thick  black  smoke  obtained  by  burning  the 
nuts  of  certain  palm-trees,  after  which  pro- 
cess the  article  is  ready  for  sata  India-rub- 
ber is  known  throughout  the  province  only 
by  the  name  of  seringa,  the  Portuguese  word 
for  syringe  ;  it  owes  this  appellation  to  the 
circumstance  that  it  was  in  this  form  only 
that  the  first  Portuguese  settlers  not  iced  it  to 
be  employed  by  the  aborigines.  It  is  said 
that  the  Indians  were  first  taught  to  make 
syringes  of  rubber  by  seeing  natural  tubes 
formed  by  it,  when  the  spontaneously-flowing 
sap  gathered  round  projecting  twigs.  Bra- 
zilians of  all  classes  still  "use  it  extensively  in 
the  form  of  syringes,  for  injections  form  a 
great  feature  in  the  popular  system  oi:  cures  ; 
the  rubber  for  this  purpose  is  made  into  a 
pear-shaped  bottle,  and  a  quill  fixed  in  the 
long  neck. 

•  September  24^7*. — Opposite  Cameta  the 
islands  are  all  planted  with  cacao,  the  tree 
which  yields  the  chocolate  nut.  The  forest  is 
not  cleared  for  the  purpose,  but  the  cacao 
plants  are  stuck  in  here  and  there  almost  i»t 
random  among  the  trees.  There  are  many 
houses  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  all  elevated 
above  the  swampy  soil  on  wooden  piles,  and 
furnished  wi-th  broad  ladders  by  which  to 
mount  to  the  ground  floor.  As  we  passed  by 
in  our  canoe  we  could  see  the  people  at  thefr 
occupations  in  the  open  verandas,  and  in 
one  place  saw  a  ball  going  on  in  broad  day- 
light ;  there  were  fiddles  and  guitars  hard  at 
work,  and  a  number  of  lads  in  while  shirts 
and  trousers  dancing  with  brown  damsels 
clad  in  showy  print  dresses.  The  cacao-tree 
produces  a  curious  impression,  on  account  o£ 


the  flowers  and  fruit  growing  directly  out  ot 
the  trunk  and  branches.  There  is  a  whole 
group  of  wild-fruit  trees  which  have  the  same 
habit  in  this  country.  In  the  wildernesses 
where  the  cacao  is  planted,  the  collecting  of 
the  fruit  is  dangerous  from  the  number  of 
poisonous  snakes  \vhich  inhabit  the  places. 
One  day,  when  we  were  running  our  mou- 
taria  to  a  landing-place,  we  saw  a  large  ser- 
pent on  the  trees  overhead,  as  we  were  about 
to  brush  past ;  the  boat  was  stopped  just  in 
the  nick  of  time,  and  Mr.  Leavens  brought 
the  rep<ile  dowa  with  a  charge  of  shot. 

September  2Gtk. — At  length  we  got  clear  of 
the  islands,  and  saw  once  more  before  us  the 
sea-like  expanse  of  waters  which  foims  the 
mouth  of  the  Tocantins.  The  liver  had  now 
sunk  to  its  lowest  point,  and  numbers  of  fresh- 
water  dolphins  were  rolling  about  in  shoaly 
places.  There  are  here  two  species,  one  of" 
which  was  new  to  science  when  I  sent  speci- 
mens to  England.  It  is  called  the  Tucuxi 
(Steno  tucuxi  of  Gray).  When  it  comes  to 
the  surface  to  breathe,  it  rises  horizontally, 
showing  first  its  back  fin  ;  draws  an  inspira- 
tion, and  tnen  dives  gently  down,  head  fore- 
most. This  mode  of  proceeding  distinguishes 
the  Tucuxi  at  once  from  the  other  species,, 
which  is  called  Boulo  or  porpoise  by  the  na- 
tives (Tnia  Geoff  royi  of  Desmarest).  When 
this  rises,  the  top  of  the  head  is  the  part  first 
seen  ;  it  then  blows,  and  immediately  after- 
ward dips  head  downward,  its  back  curving: 
over,  exposing  successively  the  whole  doisal 
ridge  with  its  fin.  It  seems  thus  to  pitch 
heels  over  head,  but  does  not  show  the  tail 
fin.  Besides  this  peculiar  motion,  it  is  distin- 
guished from  the  Tucuxi  by  its  habit  of  gen- 
erally going  in  pairs.  Botli  species  are  ex- 
ceedingly numerous  throughout  the  Ama- 
zons, and  its  larger  tributaries,  but  they  are^ 
nowhere  more  plentiful  than  in  I  he  shoaly 
water  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tocantins,  espe- 
cially in  the  dry  season.  In  the  Upper  Ama- 
zons a  third  pale  flesh  colored  species  is  also 
abundant  (theDelphinuspalliduscf  Gervais). 
With  the  exception  of  a  species  found  in  t.h« 
Ganges,  all  other  varieties  of  dolphin  inhabit 
exclusively  the  sea.  In  the  broader  parts  of" 
the  Amazons,  from  its  mouth  to  a  distance? 
of  fifteen  hundred  miles  in  the  interior,  one-- 
or  other  of  the  three  kinds  here  mentioned, 
are  always  heard  rolling,  blowing,  and  snort- 
ing, especially  at  night,  and  these  noises  con- 
tribute much  to  the  impression  of  sea- wide 
vastness  and  desolation  which  haunts  the.- 
traveller.  Besides  dolphins  in  the  water, 
frigate-birds  in  the  air  are  characteristic  of 
this  lowrer  part  of  the  Tocantins.  Flocks 
of  them  were  seen  the  last  two  or  three  days 
of  our  journey,  hovering  about  at  an  immense 
height.  Toward  night  we  were  obliged  to 
cast  anchor  over  a  shoal  in  the  middle  of  the. 
river  to  await  the  ebb  tide.  The  wind  blew 
very  strongly,  and  this,  together  with  the  in- 
coming flow,  caused  such  a  heavy  sea  that  it 
was  impossible  to  sleep.  The  vessel  rolled 
and  pile-bed  until  every  bone  in  our  bodies- 
ached  with  the  bumps  we  received,  and  w& 
were  all  mors  or  less  sea-sick.  On  the  fol- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


653 


lowing  day  we  entered  the  Anapu,  and  on 
the  30th  of  September,  after  threading  again 
the  labyrinth  of  channels  communicating  be- 
tween the  Tocantins  and  the  Moju,  arrived 
at  Para. 

I  will  now  give  a  short  account  of  Camet&, 
the  principal  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Tocan- 
tins, which  I  visited  for  the  second  time  in 
June,  1849  ;  Mr.  Wallace,  in  the  same  month, 
departing  from  Para  to  explore  the  rivers 
Guama  and  Capim.  I  embarked  as  passen- 
ger in  a  Cameta  trading-vessel,  the  St.  John, 
i  small  schooner  of  thirty  tons  burden.  I 
aad  learned  by  this  time  that  the  only  way  to 
attain  the  objects  for  which  I  had  come  to 
this  country  was  to  accustom  myself  to  the 
ways  of  life  of  the  humbler  classes  of  the  in- 
habitants. A  traveller  on  the  Amazons  gains 
little  by  being  furnished  with  letters  of 
recommendation  to  persons  of  note,  for  in 
the  great  interior  wildernesses  of  forest  and 
Tiver  the  canoe-men  have  pretty  much  their 
own  way  ;  the  authorities  cannot  force  them 
to  grant  passages  or  to  hire  themselves  to 
travellers,  and  therefore  a  stranger  is  obliged 
to  ingratiate  himself  with  tbem  in  order  to 
get  conveyed  from  place  to  place.  I 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  journey  to  Camet&  ; 
the  weather  was  again  beautiful  in  the  ex- 
treme. We  started  from  Para  at  sunrise  on 
Ahft  8th  of  June,  and  en  the  loth  emerged 
.from  the  narrow  channels  of  the  Anapu  into 
The  broad  Tocautins.  The  vessel  was  so  full 
of  cargo,  that  there  was  no  room  to  sleep  in 
the  cabin  ;  so  we  passed  the  nights  on  deck. 
The  captain,  or  supercargo,  called  in  Portu- 
guese cabo,  was  a  mameluco,  named  Manoel, 
a  quiet,  good  humored  person,  who  treated 
me  with  the  most  unaffected  civility  during 
the  three  days'  journey.  The  pilot  was  also 
a  mameluco,  named  John  Mendez,  a  hand- 
some young  fellow,  full  of  life  and  spirit. 
He  had  on  board  a  wire  guitar  or  viola,  as  it 
is  here  called  ;  and  in  the  bright  moonlight 
nights,  as  we  lay  at  anchor  hour  after  hour 
waiting  for  the  tide,  he  enlivened  us  all  with 
songs  and  music.  He  was  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  the  cabo,  both  sleeping  in  the 
same  hammock  slung  between  the  masts.  I 
passed  the  nights  wrapped  in  an  old  sail  out- 
side the  roof  of  the  cabin.  The  crew,  live  in 
number,  were  Indians  and  half-breeds,  all  of 
whom  treated  their  two  superiors  with  the 
most  amusing  familiarity,  yet  I  never  sailed 
in  a  better  managed  vessel  than  the  St.  John. 

In  crossing  to  Cameta  we  had  to  await  the 
flood-tide  in  a  channel  called  Entre-as-Ilhas, 
which  lies  between  two  islands  in  mid-river, 
and  John  Mendez,  being  in  good  tune,  gave 
us  an  extempore  song,  consisting  of  a  great 
number  of  verses.  The  canoe-men  of  the 
.Am.it/on9  have  many  songs  and  choruses,  with 
which  they  are  in  the  habit  of  relieving  the 
monotony  of  their  slow  voyages,  and  which 
;are  known  all  over  the  interior.  The  cho- 
ruses consist  of  a  simple  strain,  repeated 
almost  to  weariness,  and  sung  generally  in 
unison,  but  sometimes  with  an  attempt  at 
Jharmony.  There  is  a  wildness  and  sadness 


about  the  tunes  which  harmonize  well  with, 
and  in  fact  are  born  of,  the  circumstances  of 
the  canoe-man's  life  :  the  echoing  channels, 
the  endless  gloomy  forests,  *,he  solemn  nights, 
and  the  desolate  scenes  of  broad  and  stormy 
waters  and  falling  banks.  Whether  they 
were  invented  bylhe  Indians  or  introduced 
by  the  Portuguese  it  is  hard  to  decide,  as 
many  of  the  customs  of  the  lower  classes 
of  Portuguese  are  so  similar  to  those  of 
the  Indians  that  they  have  become  blend- 
ed with  them.  One  of  the  commonest 
son^s  is  very  wiM  and  pretty.  It  has  for 
refrain  the  words  "  Mai,  Mai,"  ("  Mother, 
mother"),  with  a  long  drawl  on  the  second 
word.  The  stanzas  are  very  variable.  The 
best  wit  on  board  starts  the  verse,  improvis- 
ing as  he  goes  on,  and  the  others  join  in  the 
chorus.  They  all  relate  to  the  loneiy  river 
life  and  the  events  of  the  voyage  ;  the  shoals, 
the  wind  ;  how  far  they  shall  go  before  they 
stop  to  sleep,  and  so  forth.  The  sonorous 
native  names  of  places,  Goajara,  Tucuman- 
diiba,  etc.,  add  greatly  to  the  charm  of  the 
wild  music.  Sometimes  they  bring  in  the 
stars  thus  : 

Alnaesta  sahindo, 

Mai,  Mai! 
A  lua  esta  sahindo, 

Mai,  Mai! 
As  bete  estrellas  estaO  chorando, 

Mai,  Mai! 
For  s'acharem  desamparados, 

Mai,  Mai!  J 

The  moon  is  rising,  i 

Mother,  Mother  1 
The  moon  is  rising. 

Mother,  Mother ! 
The  seven  stars  (Pie  ades)  are  weeping, 

Mother,  Mother! 
To  find  themselves  forsaken, 

Mother,  Mother  ! 

I  fell  asleep  about  ten  o'clock,  but  at  four 
in  the  morning  John  Mendez  woke  me  to 
enjoy  the  sight  of  the  little  schooner  tea-ring 
through  the  waves  before  a  spanking  breeze. 
The  night  was  transparently  clear  and  almost 
cold,  the  moon  appeared  sharply  denned 
against  the  dark  blue  sky,  and  a  ridge  of 
foam  marked  where  the  prow  of  the  vessel 
was  cleaving  its  way  through  the  water. 
The  men  had  made  a  tire  in  the  galley,  to 
make  tea  of  an  acid  herb  called  erva  cidreira 
a  quantity  of  which  they  had  gathered  at  the 
last  landing-place,  and  the  flames  sparkled 
cheerily  upward.  It  is  at  such  times  as  these 
that  Amazon  traveling  is  enjoyable,  and  one 
no  longer  wonders  at  the  love  which  many, 
both  natives  and  strangers,  have  for  this 
wandering  life.  The  little  schooner  sped 
rapidly  on  with  booms  bent  and  sails  stretched 
to  the  utmost.  Just  as  day  dawned,  we  ran 
with  scarcely  slackened  speed  into  the  port 
of  Cameta,  and  cast  anchor. 

I  stayed  at  Camel  a  until  the  16th  of  July, 
and  made  a  considerable  collection  of  the  na- 
tural productions  of  the  neighborhood.  The 
town  in  1849  was  estimated'to  contain  about 
5001)  iiihaliilauts.  but  the  municipal  district 
of  which  Cameta  is  the  capital  numbers 
20,000  :  this,  however,  comprised  the  whole 


654 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


of  the  lower  part  of  the  Tocantins,  which 
is  the  most  thickly  populated  part  of  the 
province  of  Para.  The  productions  of 
the  district  are  cacao,  india-rubber,  and 
Brazil  nuts.  The  most  remarkable  fea- 
ture in  the  social  aspect  of  the  place  is  the 
hybrid  nature  of  the  whole  population,  the 
amalgamation  of  the  white  and  Indian  races 
being  here  complete.  The  aborigines  were 
originally  very  numerous  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Tocantins,  the  principal  tribe 
having  been  the  Camutas,  from  which  the 
city  takes  its  name.  They  were  a  superior 
nation,  settled,  and  attached  tj  agriculture, 
and  received  with  open  arms  the  white  immi- 
grants who  were  attracted  to  the  district  by 
its  fertility,  natural  beauty,  and  the  healthful- 
ness  of  the  climate.  The  Portuguese  settlers 
were  nearly  all  males,  the  Indian  women 
were  good-looking  and  made  excellent 
wives  ;  so  the  natural  result  has  been,,  in  the 
course  of  two  centuries,  a  complete  blending 
of  the  two  races  There  is  now,  however,  a 
considerable  infusion  of  negro  blood  in  the 
mixture,  several  hundred  African  slaves  hav- 
ing been  introduced  during  the  last  seventy 
years.  The  few  whites  are  chiefly  Portu- 
guese, but  there  are  also  two  or  three  Brazil- 
ian families  of  pure  European  descent.  The 
town  consists  of  three  Ions  streets,  running 
parallel  to  the  river,  with  a  few  shorter  ones 
crossing  them  at  right  angles.  Tue  houses 
are  very  plain,  being  built,  as  usual  in  this 
country,  simply  of  a  strong  fiamework,  filled 
up  with  mud,  and  coated  witk  white  plaster. 
A  few  of  them  are  of  two  or  three  stories. 
There  ">re  three  churches,  and  also  a  small 
theatre,  where  a  company  of  native  actors,  at 
the  time  of  my  visit,  were  representing  light 
Portuguese  plays  with  considerable  taste  and 
aWlity.  The  people  have  a  reputation  all 
over  the  province  for  energy  and  persever- 
•ance  ;  and  it  is  often  said  that  they  are  as 
keen  in  trade  as  the  Portuguese.  The  lower 
classes  are  as  indolent  and  sensual  here  as  in 
other  parts  of  the  province,  a  moral  condition 
not  to  be  wondered  at  in  a  country  where 
perpetual  summer  reigns  and  where  the 
necessaries  of  life  are  so  easily  obtained.  But 
they  are  light-hearted,  quick-witted,  commu- 
nicative, arnd  hospitable.  I  found  here  a  na- 
tive poet,  who  had  written  some  pretty  verses, 
sbo\viug  an  appreciation  of  the  natural  beau- 
ties of  the  country,  and  was  told  that  the 
Archbishop  of  Bahia,  the  Primate  of  Brazil, 
was  a  native  of  Cameta.  It  is  interesting  to 
find  the  mamelucos  displaying  talent  and  en- 
terprise, for  it  shows  that  degeneracy  does 
n«pt  necessarily  result  from  the  mixture  of 
white  and  Indian  blood.  The  Cametaenses 
boast,  as  they  have  a  right  to  do,  of  theirs 
being  the  only  large  town  which  resisted  suc- 
cessfully the  anarchists  in  the  great  rebellion 
of  1835-6.  While  the  whites  of  Para  were 
submitting  to  the  rule  of  half-savage  revolu- 
tionists, the  nifimelucos  of  Cameta  placed 
themselves  under  the  leadership  of  a  coura- 
geous priest,  named  Prudencio,  armed 
themselves,  fortified  the  place,  and  repulsed 
the  large  forces  which  the  iusurge.ytf  -f  ^ara 


sent  to  attack  the  place.  The  town  not  only 
becauie  the  refuge  for  all  loyal  subjects,  but 
was  a  centre  whence  large  parties  of  volun- 
teers sallied  forth  repeatedly  to  attack  the- 
anarchists  in  their  various  strongholds. 

The  forest  behind  Cameta  is  traversed  by 
several  broad  roads,  which  lead  over  undu- 
lating ground  many  miles  into  the  interior. 
They  pass  generally  under  shade,  and  part 
of  the  way  through  groves  of  coffee  and 
orange  trees,  fragrant  plantations  of  cacaor 
and  tracts  of  second-growth  woods.  The  nar- 
row brook-watered  valleys,  with  which  the- 
land  is  inteisected,  alone  have  remained 
clothed  with  primeval  forest,  at  least  near 
the  town.  The  houses  along  these  beautiful, 
roads  belong  chiefly  to  mameluco,  mulatto,, 
and  Indian  families,  each  of  which  has  its; 
own  small  plantation.  There  are  only  a  few^ 
planters  with  larger  establishments,  and  these* 
have  seldom  more  than  a  dozen  slaves.  Be- 
sides the  main  roads,  there  are  endless  by- 
paths which  thread  the  forest  and  communi- 
cate with  isolated  houses.  Along  these  the* 
traveller  may  wander  day  after  day  without 
leaving  the  shade,  and  everywhere  meet  with, 
cheerful,  simple,  and  hospitable  people. 

Soon  after  lauding  I  was  introduced  to  the 
most  distinguished  citizen  of  the  place,  Dr. 
Angelo  Custodio  Correia,  whom  I  have 
already  mentioned.  This  excellent  man  was 
a  favorable  specimen  of  the  highest  class  of 
native  Brazilians.  He  had  been  educated  iiii 
Europe,  was  now  a  member  of  the  Biazilian 
Parliament,  and  had  been  twice  president  of 
his  native  province.  His  manners  were  less; 
formal,  and  his  goodness  more  thoroughly 
genuine,  perhaps,  than  is  the  rule  gtneially 
with  Brazilians.  He  was  admirecUnd  loved, 
as  I  had  ample  opportunity  of  obseiving, 
throughout  all  Amazonia.  He  saciificed  his. 
life  in  1855,  for  the  good  of  his  fellow  towns- 
men, when  Cameta  was  devastated  by  the= 
cholera  ;  having  stayed  behind  with  a  few 
heroic  spirits  to  succor  invalids  and  direct 
the  burying  of  the  dead,  when  Dearly  all  the 
chief  citiztns  had  fled  fiom  the  place  After 
he  had  done  what  he  could  he  t-mbtirktd  for 
Para,  but  was  himself  then  attacked  with 
cholera,  and  died  on  board  the  steamer  before- 
he  reached  the  capital.  Dr.  Angelo  received 
me  with  the  usual  kindness  which  he  showed 
to  all  strangers.  He  procured  me,  unso- 
licited, a  clmiming  country  house,  free  of 
rent,  hired  a  nniatto  servant  for  me,  and  thus. 
relieved  me  of  the  many  annoyances  and  de- 
lays attendant  on  a  first  ai rival  in  a  country 
town  where  even  the  name  of  an  inn  is  un- 
known. The  rociuha  thus  given  up  for  my 
residence  belonged  to  a  friend  of  his,  Senhor 
Jose  Raimundo  Furtado,  a  stout  florid-corn- 
plexioned  gentleman,  such  a  one  as  might  be- 
met  with  any  day  in  a  country  town  in  Eng- 
land. To  him  also  I  was  indebted  for  many 
acts  of  kindness. 

The  rociuha  was  situated  near  a  broad, 
grassy  road  bordered  by  lofty  woods,  which 
leads  from  Cameta  to  the  Ald(  ia.  a  village 
two  miles  distant.  My  first  walks  wtre  along; 
tiri3  road.  Fiom  it  blanches  another  similar 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


"but  stin  more  picturesque  road,  which  runs 
1o  Curima  and  Pacaja,  two  small  settlements, 
several  miles  distant,  in  the  heart  of  the  for- 
est. The  Curima  road  is  beautiful  in  the  ex- 
treme. About  half  a  mile  from  the  house 
where  I  lived  it  crosses  a  brook  flowing 
through  a  deep  dell,  by  means  of  a  long  rus- 
tic wooden  bridge.  The  virgin  forest  is  here 
left  untouched  ;  numerous  groups  of  slender 
palms,  mingled  with  lofty  trees  overrun  with 
creepers  and  parasites,  fill  the  shady  glen 
and  arch  over  the  bridge,  forming  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  scenes  imaginable.  A  lit- 
tle beyond  the  bridge  there  was  an  extensive 
grove  of  orange  and  other  trees,  which  yield- 
ed me  a  rich  harvest.  The  Aldeia  road  runs 
parallel  to  the  river,  the  land  from  the  border 
of  the  road  to  the  indented  shore  of  the  To- 
cant  ins  forming  a  long  slope,  which  was  also 
richly  wooded  ;  this  slope  was  threaded  by 
numerous  shady  paths,  and  abounded  in  beau- 
tiful insects  and  birds.  At  the  opposite  or 
southern  end  of  the  town  there  was  a  broad 
road  called  the  Estrada  da  Vacaria  ;  this  ran 
along  the  banks  of  the  Tocantins  at  some 
distance  from  the  river,  and  continued  over 
hill  and  dale,  through  bamboo  thickets  and 
palm  swamps,  for  about  fifteen  miles. 

At  Cameta  I  chanced  to  verify  a  fact  relat- 
ing to  the  habits  of  a  large  hairy  spider  of  the 
genus  Mygale,  in  a  manner  worth  recording. 
The  species  was  M.  avicularia,  or  one  very 
closely  allied  to  it ;  the  individual  was  nearly 
two  inches  in  length  of  body,  but  the  legs 
expanded  seven  inches,  and  the  entire  body 
and  legs  were  covered  with  coarse  gray  and 
reddish  hairs.  I  was  attracted  by  a  move- 
ment of  the  monster  on  a  tree-trunk  ;  it  was 
close  beneath  a  deep  crevice  in  the  tree,  across 
which  was  stretched  a  dense  white  web.  The 
lower  part  of  the  web  was  broken,  and  two 
small  birds,  finches,  were  entangled  in  the 
pieces  ;  they  were  about  the  size  of  the  Eng- 
lish siskin,  and  I  judged  the  two  to  be  male 
and  female.  One  of  them  was  quite  dead  : 
ihe  other  lay  under  the  body  of  the  spider  not 
quite  dead,  and  was  smeared  with  the  fi.thy 
liquor  or  saliva  exuded  by  the  monster.  1 
drove  away  the  spider  and  took  the  birds, 
but  the  second  one  soon  died.  The  fact  of 
species  of  Mygale  sallying  forth  at  night, 
mounting  trees,  and  sucking  the  eggs  and 
young  nf  humming-birds,  has  been  recorded 
long  ago  by  Madame  Merian  and  Palisot  de 
Beauvois  ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  any  con- 
firmation, it  has  come  to  be  discredited. 
From  the  way  the  fact  has  been  related  it 
would  appear  that  it  had  been  merely  derived 
from  the  report  of  natives,  and  had  not  been 
witnessed  by  the  narrators.  Count  Langs- 
dorff,  in  his'"  Expedition  into  the  Interior  of 
Brazil,"  states  that  he  totally  disbelieved  the 
story.  1  found  the  circumstance  to  be  quite 
a  novelty  to  the  residents  hereabout.  The 
Mygales  are  quite  common  insects  ;  some 
species  make  their  cells  under  stones,  others 
form  artistic  tunnels  in  the  earth,  and  some 
build  their  dens  in  the  thatch  of  houses.  The 
natives  call  them  Aninhas  carangueijeiras, 
or  crab-spiders.  The  hairs  with  which  they 


are  clothed  come  off  when  touched,  and  cause 
a  peculiar  and  almost  maddening  irritatiou. 
The  first  specimen  that  I  killed  and  prepared 
was  handled  incautiously,  and  I  suffered  ter- 
ribly for  three  days  afterward.  I  think  this 
is  not  owing  to  any  poisonous  quality  resid- 
ing in  the  hairs,  but  to  their  being  short  and 
hard,  and  thus  getting  into  the  fine  creases 
of  the  skin.  Some  Mygales  are  of  immense 
size.  One  day  I  saw  the  children  belonging 
to  an  Indian  famity,  who  collected  for  me, 
with  one  of  these  monsters  secured  by  a  corrl 
round  its  waist,  by  which  they  were  leading 
it  about  the  house  as  they  would  a  dog. 

The  only  monkeys  I  observed  at  Cameta 
were  the  Couxio  (Pitheciu  Satanas) — a  large 
species,  clothed  with  long  brownish-black 
hair— and  the  tiny  Midas  argentatus.  The 
Couxio  has  a  thick  bushy  tail,  and  the  hair 
of  the  head,  which  looks  as  if  it  had  been 
carefully  combed,  sits  on  it  like  a  wig.  It 
inhabits  only  the  most  retired  parts  of  the 
forest,  on  the  terra  finna,  and  I  observed 
nothing  of  its  habits.  Ihe  little  Midas  argen- 
tatus is  one  of  the  rarest  of  the  American 
monkeys  ;  indeed,  I  have  not  heard  of  its 
being  found  anywhere  except  near  Cameta, 
where  I  once  saw  three  individuals,  looking: 
like  so  many  white  kittens,  running  along  a 
branch  in  a  cacao  grove  ;  in  their  motions 
they  resembled  precisely  the  Midas  ursulus 
already  described.  I  saw  afterward  a  pet 
animal  of  this  species,  and  heard  that  th°re 
were  many  so  kept,  and  that  they  were 
esteemed  as  groat  treasures.  The  one  men- 
tioned was  full  grown,  although  it  measured 
only  seven  inches  in  length  of  body.  It  was 
covered  with  long  white  silky  hairs,  the  tail 
being  blackish,  and  the  face  nearly  naked  and 
flesh-colored.  It  was  a  most  timid  and  sensi- 
tive little  thing.  The  woman  who  owned  it 
carried  it  constantly  in  her  bosom,  and  no 
money  would  induce  her  to  part  with  her 
pet.  She  called  it  Mico.  It  fed  from  her 
tuouth,  and  allowed  her  to  fondle  it  freely, 
but  the  nervous  little  creature  would  not  per 
mit  strangers  to  touch  it.  If  any  one  at- 
tempted to  do  so,  it  shrank  back,  the  whole 
body  trembling  with  fear,  and  its  teeth  chat- 
tered while  it  uttered  its  tremulous  frightened 
tones.  The  expression  of  its  features  was 
like  that  of  its  more  robust  brother,  Midas 
ursulus  ;  the  eyes  which  were  black,  were 
full  of  curiosity  and  mistrust,  ami  were 
always  kept  fixed  on  the  person  who  attempt- 
ed to  advance  toward  it. 

In  the  orange  groves  and  other  parts  hum- 
ming-birds were  plentiful,  but  1  did  not  no- 
tice more  than  three  species.  I  saw  one  day 
a  little  pygmy  belonging  to  the  genus  Phae- 
thornis  in  the  act  of  washing  itself  in  a  brook, 
perched  on  a  thin  branch,  one  end  of  which 
was  under  water.  It  dipped  itself,  then  flut- 
tered its  wings  and  preened  its  feathers,  and 
seemed  thoroughly  to  enjoy  itself,  alone  in 
the  shady  nock  which  it  had  chosen— a  place* 
overshadowed  by  broad  leaves  of  ferns  and 
Helicon  ire.  I  thought,  as  I  watched  it,  that 
there  was  no  need  for  poets  to  invent  elvea 
aiid  gnomes,  while  nature  furnishes  u» 


656 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  VHE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


with  such  marvellous  little  sprites  ready  to 
hand. 

My  return- journey  to  Para  afforded  many 
incidents  characteristic  of  Amazonian  travel- 
ling.  1  left  Cameta  on  the  16th  of  July. 
Mr  luggage  was  embarked  in  the  morning 
in  the  Santa  Rosa,  a  vessel  of  the  kind  called 
cuberta,  or  covered  canoe.  The  cuberta  is 
very  much  used  on  these  rivers.  It  is  not 
decked,  but  the  sides  forward  arc  raised,  and 
arched  over,  so  as  to  admit  of  cargo  being 
piled  high  above  the  water-line.  At  the 
stern  is  a  neat  square  cabin,  also  raised,  and 
Ivtween  the  cabin  and  covered  forepart  is  a 
narrow  piece  decked  over,  on  which  are 
placed  the  cooking  arrangements.  This  is 
culled  the  tombadilha  or  quarterdeck,  and 
•when  the  canoe  is  heavily  laden  it  goes  un- 
d  jr  water  as  the  vessel  heels  over  to  the  wind. 
There  are  two  masts,  rigged  with  fore  and 
aft  sails.  The  foremast  has  often,  besides, 
a  main  and  top  sail.  The  forepart  is  planked 
over  at  the  top,  and  on  this  raised  deck  the 
crew  work  the  vessel,  pulling  it  along,  when 
there  is  no  wind,  by  means  of  the  long  oars 
already  described. 

As  I  have  just  said,  my  luggage  was  em- 
barked in  the  morning.  I  was  informed  that 
we  should  start  with  the  ebb-tide  in  the  after- 
noon, so  I  thought  I  should  have  time  to 
pay  my  respects  to  Dr.  Angel*o  and  other 
friends,  whose  extreme  courtesy  and  good- 
ness had  made  my  residence  at  Cameta  so 
agreeable.  After-dinner  the  guests,  accord- 
ing to  custom  at  the  house  of  the  Correias, 
walked  into  Hie  cool  veranda  which  over- 
looks the  river  ;  and  there  we  saw  the  Santa 
Rosa,  a  mere  speck  in  the  offing  miles  away, 
tacking  down  river  with  a  fine  breeze.  I 
was  njw  iu  a  fix,  for  it  would  be  useless  at- 
tempting to  overtake  the  cuberta,  and  be- 
sides the  sea  ran  too  high  for  any  montaria. 
I  was  then  told,  that  I  ought  to  have  been 
aboard  hours  before  the  time  fixed  for  start- 
ing, because  when  a  breeze  springs  up,  ves- 
sels start  before  the  tide  turns,  the  last  hour 
of  the  flood  not  being  very  strong.  All  my 
precious  collections,  my  clothes,  and  other 
necessaries  were  on  board,  and  it  was  indis- 
pensable that  I  should  be  at  Para  when  the 
things  were  disembarked.  I  tried  to  hire  a 
montaria  and  men,  but  was  told  that  it  would 
be  madness  to  cross  the  river  in  a  small  boat 
with  this  breeze.  On  going^  to  Senhor  La- 
roque,  another  of  my  Cameta  friends,  I  was 
relieved  01  my  embarrassment ;  for  I  found 
there  an  English  gentleman,  Mr.  Patchett,  of 
Pernambuo.),  who  was  visitmg  Para  and  its 
neighborhood  on  his  way  to  England,  and 
who,  as  he  was  going  back  to  Para  in  a 
small  boat  with  four  paddles,  which  would 
start  at  midnight,  kindly  offered  me  a  pass- 
age. The  evening  from  seven  to  teu  o'clock 
was  very  stormy.  About  seven,  the  night 
became  intensely  dark,  and  a  terrific  squall 
of  wind  buist  forth,  which  made  the  loose 
tiles  fly  over  the  house-tops  ;  to  this  succeed- 
ed lightning  and  stupendous  claps  of  1  hurr^- 
bi  tii  nearly  simultaneous.  "VYe  had  lu;~.  *e" 


eral  of  these  short  and  sharp  storms  during 
the  past  month.  At  midnight,  when  we  em- 
barked, all  was  as  calm  as  though  a  ruffle  had 
nearer  disturbed  air,  forest,  or  river.  The 
boat  sped  along  like  an  arrow  to  the  rhythmic 
paddling  of  the  four  stout  youths  we  had 
with  us,  who  enlivened  the  pasasge  with 
their  wild  songs.  Mr.  Patchett  and  I  tried 
to  get  a  little  sleep,  but  the  cabin  was  so 
small  and  encumbered  with  boxes  placed  at 
all  sorts  of  angles,  that  we  found  sleep  im- 
possible. I  was  just  dozing  when  the  day 
dawned,  and,  on  awaking,  the  first  object  I 
saw  was  the  Santa  Rosa,  at  anchor  beside  a 
green  island  in  mid-river.  I  preferred  to 
make  the  remainder  of  the  voyage  in  com 
pany  of  my  collections,  so  bade  Mr.  Patchett 
good-day.  The  owner  of  the  Santa  Rosa, 
Seuhor  Jacinto  Machado,  whom  I  had  not 
seen  before,  received  me  aboard,  and  apolo- 
gized for  having  started  without  me.  He 
was  a  white  man,  a  planter,  and  was  now 
taking  his  year's  produce  of  cacao,  about 
twenty  tons,  to  Para.  The  canoe  was  very 
heavily  laden,  and  I  was  rather  alarmed  to 
see  that  it  was  leaking  at  all  points.  The 
crew  were  all  in  the  water,  diving  about  to 
feel  for  t"ie  holes,  which  the}7"  stopped  with 
pieces  of  rag  and  clay,  and  an  old  negro  was 
baling  the  water  out  of  the  hold.  This  was 
a  pleasant  prospect  for  a  three-days'  voyage. 
Senhor  Machado  treated  it  as  the  most  ordi- 
nary incident  possible :  "It  was  always 
likely  to  leak,  for  it  was  an  old  vessel  that 
had  been  left  as  worthless  high  and  dry  on 
the  beach,  and  he  had  bought  it  very  cheap." 
When  the  leaks  were  stopped,  we  proceeded 
on  our  journey,  and  at  night  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Anapu.  I  wrapped  myself  iu 
an  old  sail,  and  fell  asleep  on  the  raised  deck. 
The  next  day  vre  threaded  the  Igarape-mirim 
and  on  the  19th  descended  the  Mojfu 
Senhor  Machado  and  I  by  this  time  had  be- 
come very  good  friends.  At  every  interest- 
ing spot  on  the  banks  of  the  Moju,  ha 
manned  the  small  boat  and  took  me  ashore. 
There  are  many  large  houses  on  this  river, 
belonging  to  what  were  formerly  large  and 
flourishing  plantations,  but  which,  since  the 
Revolution  of  1835-6,  had  been  suffered  to 
go  to  decay.  Two  of  the  largest  buildings 
were  constructed  by  the  Jesuits  in  the  early 
part  of  the  last  century.  We  were  told  that 
there  were  formerly  eleven  large  sugar-mills 
on  the  banks  of  the  Moju,  while  now  there 
are  only  three.  At  Buiujuba  there  is  a  large 
monastery  in  a  state  of  ruin  ;  part  of  the 
edifice,  however,  was  still  inhabited  by  s. 
Brazilian  family.  The  walls  are  four  feet  in 
thickness.  The  long  dark  corridors  and 
gloomy  cloisters  struck  rne  as  very  inappro- 
priate in  the  midst  of  this  young  and  radiant 
nature.  They  would  be  better  in  place  on 
some  barren  moor  in  Npithern  Europe,  than 
here  in  the  m'dst  of  perpetual  summer. 
The  next  turn  in  the  river  below  Burujuba 
brought  the  city  of  Para  into  view.  The 
win  '  was  now  against  us, and  we  were  obliged 
k  a'vut.  Toward  evening  it  began  to 
",  the  vessel  heeled  over  verjr 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


much,  and  8enhor  Machado,  for  the  first 
time,  trembled  for  the  sat'et}'  of  his  cargo; 
the  leaks  burst  out  afresh,  when  we  were  yet 
two  miles  from  the  shore.  He  ordered  an- 
other sail  to  be  hoisted,  in  order  to  run  more 
quickly  into  port,  but  soon  afterward  an  ex- 
tra puff  of  wind  came,  and  the  old  boat 
lurched  alarmingly,  the  rigging  gave  way, 
and  down  fell  boom  and  sail  with  a  crash,  en- 
cumbering us  with  the  wreck.  We  were 
then  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  oars  ;  and 
as  soon  as  we  were  near  the  land,  fearing 
that  the  crazy  vessel  would  sink  before  reach- 
ing port,  I  begged  Seuhor  Machado  to  send 
me  ashore  in  the  boat,  with  the  more  pre- 
cious portion  of  my  collections. 

CHAPTER  V. 

CARIPI  AND  THE  BAY  OP  MARA./6. 
River  Para  and  Bay  of  Maraj6— Journey  to  Caripf— 
Negro  Observance  of  Christmas— A  German  Family 
—Bats -Ant-eaters— Humming-birds— Excursion  to 
the  Murucupi— Domestic  Life  of  the  Inhabitants — 
Hunting  Excursion  with  Indians— White  Ants. 

THAT  part  of  the  Para  River  which  lies  in 
front  of  the  city,  as  I  have  already  explained, 
forms  a  narrow  channel,  being  separated 
from  the  main  waters  of  the  estuary  by  a 
cluster  of  islands.  This  channel  is  about  two 
miles  broad,  and  constitutes  part  of  the  minor 
estuary  of  Goajara,  into  which  the  three  riv- 
ers Guauia,  Moju,  and  Acara  discharge  their 
waters.  The  main  channel  of  the  Para  lies 
ten  miles  away  from  the  city,  directly  across 
the  river  ;  at  that  point,  after  getting  clear  of 
the  islands,  a  great  expanse  of  water  is  be- 
held, ten  to  twelve  miles  in  width  ;  the  op- 
posite shore — the  island  of  Marajo —  being 
visible  only  in  clear  weather  as  a  line  of  tree- 
tops  dotting  the  horizon.  A  little  further 
upward,  that  is,  to  the  south-west,  the  main- 
land on  the  right  or  eastern  shore  appears  ; 
this  is  called  Carnapijo  ;  it  is  rocky,  covered 
with  the  never-ending  forest,  and  the  coast, 
which  is  fringed  with  broad  sandy  beaches, 
describes  a  gentle  curve  inward.  The  broad 
reach  of  the  Para  in  front  of  this  coast  is 
called  tlie  Bahia,  or  Bay  of  Marajo.  The 
coast  and  the  interior  of  the  land  are  peopled 
by  civilized  Indians  and  mamelucos,  with  a 
mixture  of  f  ree  negroes  and  mulattoes.  They 
are  poor,  for  the  waters  aie  not  abundant  in 
fish,  and  they  are  dependent  for  a  livelihood 
solely  on  their  small  plantations,  and  the 
scanty  supply  of  game  found  in  the  woods. 
The  district  was  originally  peopled  by  vari- 
ous tribes  of  Indians,  of  whom  the  principal 
were  the  Tupinambas  and  Nhengahibas. 
Like  all  the  coast  tribes,  whether  inhabiting 
the  banks  of  the  Amazons  or  the  sea-shore 
between  Para  and  Bahia,  they  were  far 
more  advanced  in  civilization  than  the  hordes 
scattered  through  the  interior  of  the  country, 
some  of  which  still  remain  in  the  wild  state, 
between  the  Amazons  and  the  Plata.  There 
are  three  villages  on  the  coast  of  Carnapijo, 
and  several  planters'  houses,  formerly  the 
centres  of  flourishing  estates,  which  have 
now  relapsed  into  forest  in  consequence  ef 
the  scarcity  of  labor  and  diminished  enter- 


prise. One  of  the  largest  of  these  establish- 
ment is  called  Caripi.  At  the  time  of  which  I 
am  speaking  it  belonged  to  a  Scotch  gentle- 
man, Mr.  Campbell,  who  had  marrfed  the 
daughter  of  a  large  Brazilian  proprietor. 
Most  of  the  occasional  English  and  American 
visitors  to  Para  had  made  some  stay  at 
Caripi,  and  it  had  obtained  quite  a  reputa- 
tion for  the  number  and  beauty  of  the  birds 
and  insects  found  there.  I  therefore  applied 
for  and  obtained  permission  to  spend  two  or 
three  mouths  at  the  place.  The  distance 
from  Para  was  about  23  miles,  round  by  the 
northern  end  of  the  Ilha  das  Ou9as  (Isle  of 
Tigers),  which  faces  the  city.  I  bargained 
for  a  passage  thither  with  the  cabo  of  a 
small  trading-vessel,  which  was  going  past  the 
place,  and  started  on  the  7th  of  December, 
1848. 

We  were  13  persons  aboard  :  the  cabo,  his 
pretty  mulatto  mistress,  the  pilot,  and  five 
Indian  cauoemen,  three  3roung  mamelucos 
(tailor's  apprentices  who  were  taking  a  holiday 
trip  to  Cameta),  a  runaway  slave  heavily- 
chained,  and  myself.  The  young  mamelucos 
were  pleasant,  gentle  fellows  ;  they  could 
read  and  write,  and  amused  themselves  on 
the  voyage  with  a  book  containing  descrip- 
tions and  statistics  of  foreign  countries,  in 
which  they  seemed  to  take  great  interest — 
one  reading  while  the  others  listened.  At 
Uirapiranga,  a  small  island  behind  the  Ilha 
das  Ougas,  we  had  to  stop  a  short  time  to- 
embark  several  pipes  of  casha(ja  at  a  sugar 
estate.  The  cabo  took  the  montaria  and  two 
men  ;  the  pipes  were  rolled  into  the  water 
and  floated  to  the  canoe,  the  men  passing 
cables  round  and  towing  them  through  a 
rough  sea.  Here  we  slept,  and  the  following 
morning,  continuing  our  voyage,  entered  a 
narrow  channel  which  intersects  the  land  of 
Carnapijo.  At  two  P.M.  we  emerged  from 
this  channel,  which  is  called  the  Aitituba, 
or  Arrozal,  into  the  broad  Bahia,  and  then 
saw,  two  or  three  miles  away  to  the  left,  the 
red-tiled  mansion  of  Caripi,  embosomed  in 
woods  on  the  shores  of  a  charming  little  bay. 

I  remained  here  nine  weeks,  or  until  the 
12th  of  February,  1849.  The  house  was  very 
large  and  most  substantially  built,  but  con- 
sisted of  only  one  story.  I  was  told  it  waS 
built  by  the  Jesuits  more  than  a  century  ago. 
The  front  had  no  veranda,  the  doors  open- 
ing on  a  slightly-elevated  terrace,  about  a 
hundred  yards  distant  from  the  broad  sandy 
beach.  Around  the  residence  the  ground 
had  been  cleared  to  the  extent  of  two  or 
three  acres,  and  was  planted  with  fruit-trees. 
Well-trodden  pathways  through  the  forest 
led  to  little  colonies  of  the  natives,  on  the 
banks  of  retired  creeks  and  rivulets  in  the- 
interior.  lied  heie  a  solitary  but  not  un- 
pleasant life  ;  for  there  was  a  great  charrn  iu 
the  loneliness  of  the  place.  "The  swell  of 
the  river  beating  on  the  sloping  beach  cause<l 
an  unceasing  murmur,  which  lullel  me  to 
sleep  at  night,  and  seemed  appropriate  music 
in  those  mid-day  hours  when  all  nature  was 
pausing  breathless  under  the  rays  of  the  ver- 


658 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


tical  sun.  Here  I  spent  my  first  Christmas 
day  io  a  foreign  land.  The  festival  was  cele- 
brated by  the  negroes  of  their  own  free  will, 
and  in  a  very  pleasing  manner.  The  room 
next  to  the  one  1  had  chosen  was  the  capella, 
or  chapel.  It  had  a  little  altar  which  was 
neatly  arranged,  and  the  room  was  furnished 
with  a  magnificent  brass,  chandelier.  Men, 
women,  and  children  were  busy  in  the  chapel 
all  day  on  the  24th  of  December,  decorating 
the  altar  with  flowers  and  strewing  the  floor 
with  orange-leaves.  They  invited  some  of 
their  neighbors  to  the  evening  prayers  ;  and 
when  the  simple  ceremony  began,  an  hour 
before  midnight,  the  chapel  was  crowded. 
They  were  obliged  to  dispense  with  the  mass, 
for  they  had  no  priest ;  the  service,  therefore, 
consisted  merely  of  a  long  litany  and  a  few 
hymns.  There  was  placed  on  the  altar  a 
small  image  of  the  infant  Christ,  the  "  Menino 
Deos,"  as  they  called  it,  or  the  child  god, 
which  had  a  long  ribbon  depending  from  its 
wrist.  An  old  white-haired  negro  led  off  the 
litany,  and  the  rest  of  the  people  joined  in 
the  responses.  After  the  service  was  over 
they  all  went  up  to  the  altar,  one  by  one,  and 
kissed  the  end  of  the  ribbon.  The  gravity 
and  earnestness  shown  throughout  the  pro- 
ceedings were  remarkable.  Some  of  the 
hymns  were  very  simple  and  beautiful,  es- 
pecially one  beginning  "  Virgem  soberana," 
a  trace  of  whose  melody  springs  to  my  recol 
lection  whenever  I  think  on  the  dreamy  soli- 
tude of  Caripi. 

The  first  few  nights  I  was  muoh  troubled 
by  bats.  The  room  where  I  slept  had  not 
been  used  for  many  mouths,  and  the  roof  was 
open  to  the  tiles  and  rafters.  The  first  night 
I  slept  soundly  and  did  not  perceive  anything 
unusual,  but  on  the  next  I  was  aroused  about 
midnight  by  the  rushing  noise  made  by  vast 
hosts  of  bats  sweeping  about  the  room.  The 
air  was  alive  with  them  ;  they  had  put  out 
the  lamp,  and  when  I  relighted  it  the  place  ap- 
peared blackened  with  the  impish  multitudes 
that  were  whirling  round  and  round.  After 
I  had  laid  about  well  with  a  stick  for  a  few 
minutes  they  disappeared  among  the  tiles, 
but  when  all  was  still  again  they  returned, 
and  once  more  extinguished  the  light.  I  took 
no  further  notice  of  them,  and  went  to  sleep. 
The  next  night  several  got  into  my  ham- 
mock ;  I  seized  them  as  they  were  crawling 
over  me,  and  dashed  them  against  the  wall. 
The  next  morning  I  found  a  wound,  evidently 
caused  by  a  bat,  on  my  hip.  This  was  rather 
unpleasant,  £O  I  set  to  work  with  the  negroes 
and  t  -  ied  to  exterminate  them.  I  shot  a  great 
muny  as  they  hung  from  the  rafters,  and  the 
negroes,  having  mounted  with  ladders  to  the 
roof  outside,  routed  out  from  beneath  the 
eaves  many  hundreds  of  them,  including 
young  broods.  There  were  altogether  four 
species  —  two  belonging  to  the  genus 
Dysopes,  one  to  Phyllostoma,  and  the  fourth 
to  Glossophaga.  By  far  the  greater  number 
belonged  to  the  Dysopes  perotis,  a  species 
having  very  large  ears,  and  measuring  two 
feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  wings.  The 
Phyllostoma  was  a  small  kind,  of  a  dark-gray 


color,  streaked  with  white  down  the  back, 
and  having  a  leaf -shaped  fleshy  expansion  on 
the  tip  of  the  nose.  I  was  never  attacked  by 
bats  except  on  this  occasion.  The  fact  of 
their  sucking  the  blood  of  persons  sleeping, 
from  wounds  which  they  make  in  the  toes,  is 
now  well  established  ;  but  it  is  only  a  few 
persons  who  are  subject  to  this  blood-letting. 
According  to  the  negroes,  the  Phyllostoma  is 
the  only  kind  which  attacks  man.  Those 
which  I  caught  crawling  over  me  were  Dys- 
opes, and  I  am  inclined  to  think  many  differ 
ent  kinds  of  bats  have  this  propensity. 

One  day  I  was  occupied  searching  for  in- 
sects in  the  bark  of  a  fallen  tree,  when  I  saw 
a  large  cat-like  animal  advancing  toward  the 
spot.  It  came  within  a  dozen  yards  before 
perceiving  me.  I  had  no  weapon  with  me 
but  an  old  chisel,  and  was  getting  ready  to 
defend  myself  if  it  should  make  a  spring, 
when  it  turned  round  hastily  and  trotted  off. 
I  did  not  obtain  a  very  distinct  view  of  it, 
but  I  could  see  its  color  was  that  of  the 
Puma,  or  American  Lion,  although  it  was 
rather  too  small  for  that  species.  The  Puma 
is  not  a  common  animal  in  the  Amazon  for- 
ests. I  did  not  see  altogether  more  than  a 
dozen  skins  in  the  possession  of  the  natives. 
The  fur  is  of  a  fawn  color.  On  account  of 
its  hue  resembling  that  of  a  deer  common  in 
the  forests,  the  natives  call  it  the  Sassu- 
arana,*  or  the  false  deer  ;  that  is,  an  animal 
which  deceives  one  af  first  sight  by  its  super- 
ficial resemblance  to  a  deer.  The  hunters 
are  not  at  all  afraid  of  it,  and  speak  always  in 
disparaging  terms  of  its  courage.  O'f  the 
Jaguar  they  give  a  very  different  account. 

The  only  species  of  monkey  I  met  with  at 
Caripi  was  the  same  dark-colored  little  Midas 
already  mentioned  as  found  near  Para.  The 
great  Ant-eater,  Tamandua  of  the  natives 
(Myrmecophaga  jubataj,  was  not  uncommon 
here.  After  the  first  few  weeks  of  residence 
I  ran  short  of'  fresh  provisions.  The  people 
of  the  neighborhood  had  sold  me  all  the  fowls 
they  could  spare,  I  had  not  yet  learned  to 
eat  the  stale  and  stringy  salt-fish  which  is  the 
staple  food  in  these  places,  and  for  several 
days  I  had  lived  on  rice-porridge,  roasted 
bananas,  and  farinha.  The  housekeeper 
asked  me  whether  I  could  eat  Tamandua.  I 
told  her  almost  anything  inthe  shape  of  flesh 
would  be  acceptable  ;  so  the  same  day  she 
went  with  an  old  negro  named  Antonio  and 
the  dogs,  and  in  the  evening  brought  one  of 
the  animals.  The  meat  was  stewed,  and 
turned  out  very  good,  something  like  goose 
in  flavor.  The  people  at  Caripi  would  not 
touch  a  morsel,  saying  it  was  not  considered 
fit  to  eat  in  these  parts  ;  I  had  read,  however, 
that  it  was  an  article  of  food  in  other  coun 
tries  of  South  America.  During  the  next 
two  or  three  weeks,  whenever  we  were  short 
of  fresh  meat,  Antonio  was  always  ready,  for 

*  The  old  zoologist  Marcgrave  called  the  Puma  the 
Cuffuacnarana,  probably  (the  c's  being  Kjft)  a  mis- 
spelling of  Sassu-arana ;  hence  the  name  Cpugour, 
employed  by  French  zoologists,  and  copied  i*  inoet 
works  oil  natural  kibtory. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS 


669 


:  a  small  reward,  to  get  me  aTamandua.  But 
one  day  he  came  tome  in  great  distress,  with 
the  news  that  his  favorite  dog,  Atrevido,  had 
been  caught  in  the  grip  of  an  ant-eater,  and 
Tvas  kilkd.  We  hastened  to  the  place,  and 
found  the  dog  was  not  di;ad,  but  severely  torn 
by  the  claws  of  the  animal,  which  itself  was 
mortally  wounded,  and  was  now  relaxing  its 
grasp. 
The  habits  of  the  Myrmecophaga  jubata 

;  ate  now  pretty  well  known.  It  is  not  un- 
common in  the  drier  forests  of  the  Amazons 
v;illey,  but  is  not  found,  I  believe,  in  the 
Ygapo,  or  flooded  lands.  The  Brazilians 
call  the  species  the  Tainandua  bandeira,  or 
the  Banner  Ant-eater,  the  term  banner  being 
applied  in  allusion  to  the  curious  coloration 
of  the  animal,  each  side  of  the  body  having  a 
broad  oblique  stripe,  half  gray  and  half 
black,  which  gives  it  some  resemblance  to  a 
heraldic  banner.  It  has  an  excessively  long 

;  slender  muzzle,  and  a  wormlike  extensile 
tongue.  Its  jaws  are  destitute  of  teeth. 
The  claws  are  much  elongated,  and  its  gait 
is  very  awkward.  It  lives  on  the  ground, 

;  and  feeds  on  termites,  or  white  ants,  the 
Joiig  claws  being  employed  to  pull  in  pieces 
the  solid  hillocks  made  by  the  insects,  and 
the  long  flexible  tongue  to  lick  them  up  from 
Ihe  crevices  All  the  other  species  of  this 
singular  genus  are  arboreal.  I  met  with  four 
epccies  altogether.  One  was  the  Myrmeco- 
phaga tetradactyla ;  the  two  others,  more 

•  curious  and  less  known,  were  very  small 
kinds,  called  Tamandua-i.  Both  are  similar 

.111  size — ten  inches  in  length,  exclusive  of  the 
tail  —and  in  the  number  of  the  claws,  having 
two  of  unequal  length  to  the  anterior  feet, 
and  four  to  the  hind  feet.  One  species  is 
clothed  with  grayish-yellow  silky  hair  ;  this 
is  of  rare  occurrence.  The  other  has  a  fur 
of  a  dingy  brown  color,  without  silky  lustre. 
One  was  brought  to  me  alive  at  Caripi,  hav- 
ing been  caught  by  an  Indian,  clinging  mo- 
tionless inside  a  hollow  tree.  I  kept  it  in  the 
house  about  twenty-four  hours.  It  had  a 
moderately  long  snout,  curved  downward, 
and  extremely  small  eyes.  It  remained 
nearly  all  the'time  without  motion,  except 
when  irritated,  in  which  case  it  reared  itself 
on  its  hind  legs  from  the  back  of  a  chair  to 
•which  it  dung,  and  clawed  out  with  its  fore- 
paws  like  a  cat.  Its  manner  of  clinging  with 
i's  claws,  and  the  sluggishness  of  its  motions, 
give  it  a  great  resemblance  to  a  sloth.  It  ut- 
tered no  souni.l,  and  remained  all  night  on 
tlie  spot  where  I  had  placed  it  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  next  day  I  put  it  on  a  tree  in  the 
open  nir,  and  at  ni^ht  it  escaped.  These 
pinall  Tamanduas  are  nocturnal  in  their 
habits,  and  feed  on  those  species  of  termites 
which  construct  earthy  nests,  that  look  like 
ugly  excrescences, on  the  trunks  and  branches 
of  trees.  The  different  kinds  of  ant-eaters 
are  thus  adapted  to  various  modes  of  life,  ter- 
restrial and  arboreal.  Those  which  live  on 
trees  are  again  either  diurnal  or  nocturnal, 
for  Myrmecophaga  tetradactyla  are  seen  mr>/- 
iug  along  the  main  branches  in  the  dtiytim". 
The  allied  group  of  the  Sloths,  which  are 


still  more  exclusively  South  American  forms 
than  ant-eaters  are,  at  the  present  time  fur- 
nish arboreal  species  only,  but  formerly  ter- 
restrial forms  of  sloths  also  existed,  a*s  the 
Megatherium,  whose  mode  of  life  was  a 
puzzle,  seeing  that  it  was  of  too  colossal  a 
size  to  live  on  trees,  until  Owen  showed  how 
it  might  have  obtained  its  food  from  the 
ground. 

In  January  the  orange  trees  became  cov 
ered  with  blossom — at  least  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent than  usual,  for  they  flower  more  or  loss 
in  the  country  all  the  year  round — and  the 
flowers  attracted  a  great  number  of  hum- 
ming-birds. Every  day  in  the  cooler  hours 
of  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  from 
four  o'clock  till  six,  they  were  to  be  seen 
whirling  about  the  trees  by  scores.  Their 
motions  are  unlike  those  of  all  other  birds. 
They  dart  to  and  fro  so  swiftly  that  the  eye 
can  scarcely  follow  them,  and  when  they 
stop  before  a  flower  it  is  only  for  a  few  mo-  . 
meuts.  They  poise  themselvts  in  an  un- 
steady manner,  their  wings  moving  with  in- 
conceivable rapidity,  probe  the  fbwer,  and 
then  shoot  off  to  another  part  of  the  tree. 
They  do  not  proceed  in  that  methodical  man- 
ner which  bees  follow,  taking  the  flowers 
spriatim,  but  skip  about  from  one  part  of 
the  tree  to  another  in  the  most  capricious 
way.  Sometimes  two  males  close  with  each 
other  and  fight,  mounting  upward  in  the 
struggle,  as  insects  do  when  similarly  en- 
gaged, and  then  separating  hastily  and  dart 
ing  back  to  their  work.  Now  and  then  the} 
stop  to  rest,  perching  on  leafless  twigs,  where 
they  may  be  sometimes  seen  probing,  from 
the  places  where  they  sit,  the  flowers  within 
their  reach.  The  brilliant  colors  with  which 
they  are  adorned  cannot  be  seen  while  they 
are  fluttering  about,  nor  can  the  different 
species  be  distinguished  unless  they  have  a 
deal  of  white  hue  in  their  plumage,  such  as 
Heliothrix  auritus,  which  is  wholly  white 
underneath,  although  of  a  glittering  green 
color  above,  and  the  white-tailed  Floristiga 
mellivora.  There  is  not  a  great  variety  of 
humming-birds  in  the  Amazons  region,  the 
number  of  species  being  far  smaller  in  these 
uniform  forest  plains  than  in  the  diversified 
valleys  of  the  Andes,  under  the  same  parallels 
of  latitude.  The  family  is  divisible  into  two 
groups,  contrasted  in  form  and  habits,  one 
containing  species  which  live  entirely  in  the 
shade  of  the  forest,  and  tho  other  comprising 
those  which  prefer  open  sunny  places.  The 
forest  species  (Phaethorninse)  are  seldom  seen 
at  flowers,  flowers  being,  in  the  shady  places 
where  they  abide,  of  rare  occurrence  ;  but 
they  search  for  insects  on  leaves,  threading 
the  bushes  and  passing  above  and  beneath  « 
each  leaf  with  wonderful  rapidity.  The 
other  group  (Trochilinse)  are  not  quite  con- 
fined to  cleared  places,  as  they  come  into  the 
forest  wherever  a  tree  is  in  blossom,  and  de- 
scend into  sunny  openings  where  flowers  m? 
to  be  found.  But  it  is  only  where  the  woods 
arc  less  dense  than  usual  that  this  is  the 
c'i«-e  ;  in  the  Irfty  forests  ami  twilight  shades 
of  the  lowland  and  islands  they  aie  scarcely 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


«ver  seen.  I  searched  well  at  Caripi,  expect- 
ing to  find  the  Lophornis  Gpuldii,  which  I 
was  told  had  been  obtained  in  the  locality. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  hum- 
ming-birds, having  round  the  neck  a  frill  of 
long  white  feathers  tipped  with  golden  green. 
I  was  not,  however,  so  fortunate  as  to  meet 
with  it.  Several  times  I  shot  by  mistake  a 
humming-bird  hawk-moth  instead  of  a  bird. 
This  moth  (Macroglossa  Titan)  is  somewhat 
smaller  than  humming  birds  generally  are, 
but  its  manner  of  flight,  and  the  way  it 
poises  itself  before  a  flower  while  probing  it 
with  the  proboscis,  are  precisely  like  the 
same  actions  of  humming-birds.  It  was  only 
after  many  days'  experience  that  I  learned 
to  distinguish  one  from  the  other  when  on 
the  wing.  This  resemblance  has  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  natives,  all  of  whom,  even 
educated  whites,  firmly  believe  that  one  is 
transmutable  into  the  other.  They  have  ob- 
served the  metamorphosis  of  caterpillars  into 
butterflies,  and  think  it  not  at  all  more  won- 
derful that  a  moth  should  change  into  a  hum- 
ming-bird. The  resemblance  between  this 
hawk-moth  and  a  humming-bird  is  certainly 
very  curious,  and  strikes  one  even  when  both 
are  examined  in  the  hand.  Holding  them 
sideways,  the  shape  of  the  head  and  position- 
of  the  eyes  in  the  moth  are  seen  to  be  nearly 
the  same  as  in  the  bird,  the  extended  pro- 
boscis representing  the  long  beak.  At  the 
tip  of  the  moth's  body  there  is  a  brush  of 
long  hair-scales  resembling  feathers,  which 
being  expanded,  looks  very  much  like  a 
bird's  tail.  But,  of  course,  all  these  points 
of  resemblance  are  merely  superficial.  The 
negroes  and  Indians  tried  to  convince  me 
that  the  two  were  of  the  same  species. 
"  Look  at  their  feathers,"  they  said,  "  their 
eyes  are  the  same,  and  so  are  their  tails." 
This  belief  is  so  deeply  rooted  that  it  was 
useless  to  reason  with  them  on  the  subject. 
The  Macroglossa  moths  are  found  in  most 
countries,  and  have  everywhere  the  same 
habits  ;  one  well-known  species  is  found  in 
England.  Mr.  Gould  relates  that  he  once 
had  a  stormy  altercation  with  an  English 
gentleman,  who  affirmed  that  humming- 
birds were  found  in  England,  for  he  had  seen 
one  flying  in  Devonshire,  meaning  thereby 
the  moth  Macroglossa  stellatarurn.  The 
analogy  between  the  two  creatures  has  been 
brought  about,  probably,  by  the  similarity  of 
their  habits,  there  being  no  indication  of  the 
one  having  been  adapted  in  outward  appear 
ance  with  reference  to  the  other. 

It  has  been  observed  that  humming-birds 
are  unlike  other  birds  in  their  mental  quali- 
ties, resembling  in  this  respect  insects  rather 
than  warm-blooded  vertebrate  animals.  The 
want  of  expression  in  their  eyes,  the  small 
degree  of  versatility  in  their  actions,  the 
quickness  and  precision  of  their  movements, 
are  all  so  many  points  of  resemblance  be- 
tween them  and  insects.  In  walking  along 
the  alleys  of  the  forest  a  Phaethornis  fre- 
quently crosses  one's  path,  often  stopping 
suddenly  and  remaining  poised  in  mid-air,  a 
few  feet  distant  from  the  face  of  the  intruder. 


The  Phaethorninae  are  certainly  more  numer 
ous  in   individuals     in  the  Amazon  regions; 
than    the    Trochilinae.       They  build    their- 
nests,  which  are  made  of  fine  vegetable  fibres- 
and  lichens,   densely  woven    together  and-, 
thickly  lined  with  silk  cotton  from  the  fruit 
of  the  samauma-tree(Eriodendronsamauma)r 
on  the  inner  sides  of  the  tips  of  palm- fronds. 
They  are  long  and  purse-shaped.     The  youu.i^ 
when  first  hatched  have  very  much  shorter 
bills  than  their  parents.    The  only  specie 
of  Trochilinae  which  1  found1  afc  Caripi  \\eit; 
the  little  brassy-green  Polytmasviridissimiis, 
the     sapphire     and    emerald     (Thaluraniai 
furcata),  and  the  large  falcate- winged  Cam 
pylopterus  obscurus. 

Snakes   were  very  numerous    at   Caripi  ; 
many  harmless  species  were  found  near  the 
house,  and  these  sometimes  came  into  the- 
rooms.     I  was  wandering  one  day  among  the  • 
green  bushes  of  Guajara,  a  tree  which  yields 
a  grape-like  berry  (Chrysobalanus  Icaco)  an-l 
grows  along  all  these  sandy  shores,  when  I. 
was  startled  by  what  appeared  to  be  the  flexu- 
ous  stern  of  a  creeping  plant  endowed  with 
life  and  threading  its  way  among  the  leaves 
and  branches.     This  animated  liana  turned 
out  to  be  a  pale-green  snake,  the  Dryophis  - 
fulgida.     Its  whole  body  is  of  the  same  green 
hutT,  and  it  is  thus  rendered  undistinguishable- 
amid   the   foliage  of  the   Guajara    bushes, 
where  it  prowls  in  search  of  its  prey,  tree- 
frogs  and  lizards.     The  forepart  of  its  head  : 
is  prolonged  into  a  slender  pointed  beak,  and 
the  total  length  of   the  reptile  was  six  feet. 
There  was  another  kind  found  among  bushes  - 
on  the  borders  of  the  forest,  closely  allied  to  • 
this,  but  much  more  slender,  viz.,  the  Dryo- 
this  acominata.     This  grows  to  a  length  of 
4  feet  8  inches,  the  tail  alone  being  22  inches  ;  •. 
but  the  diameter  of  the  thickest  pait  of  the  - 
body  is  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
It  is  of   light-brown  color,   with  iridescent, 
shades,  variegated  with  obscurer  markings, 
and  looks  like  a  piece, of  whip-cord.    One  iri 
dividual  which  I  caught  of  this  species  had 
a  protuberance  near  the  middle  of  the  body. 
On  opening  it  I  found  a  half-digested  lizard 
which  was  much  more  bulky  than  the  snake  • 
itself.     Another  kind  of  serpent  found  here,, 
a  species  of  Helicops,  was  amphibious  in  its  ; 
habits.     I  saw  several  of  this  in  wet  weal  her- 
on the  beach,  which,  on  being  approached,  . 
always    made    straightway  for   the    wntir,  . 
where  they  swam  with  much  grace  and  dex- 
terity.    Florinda,  the  housekeeper,  on.    day 
caught  a  Helicops  while  angling  tor  nVh,  it 
having  swallowed  the  fish-hook  with  the  bait 
She  and  others  told   me  these  wuler-snakc* 
lived  on  small  fishes,  but  I  did  not  meit  with 
any  proof  of  the  statement.     In  the  wot  ds,. 
snakes  were   constantly  occurring  ;    it    was 
not    often,   however,  that   I  saw    poisonous 
species.     There  were  many  arboreal  kinds, 
besides  the  two  just  mentioned  ;  and  it  was 
lather  alarming,  in  eritornologizing  about  the 
ti  uuks  of  tiees,  to  suddenly  encounter,  on> 
turning   round,    as  sometimes   happened,    a. 
pair  of  glittering  eyes  ana  a  forked  t«  ng-ie 
u  few  inches  of  cue's  head.     The  last 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


681 


feind  I  shall  mention  is  the  Coral  snake, 
-which  is  a  most  beautiful  object  when  seen 
coiled  up  on  black  soil  in  the  woods.  The 
one  I  saw  here  was  banded  with  black  and 
vermilion,  the  black  bands  having  each  two 
clear  white  rings.  The  state  of  specimens 
preserved  in  spirits  can  give  no  idea  of  the 
brilliant  colors  which  adorn  the  Coral  snake 
in  life. 

In  company  with  Petzell,  a  German  settler 
near  Caripi,  I  made  many  excursions  of  long 
ex  lent  in  the  neighboring  forest.  We  some- 
times went  to  Murucupi,  a  cieek  which 
passes  through  the  forest  about  four  miles 
behind  Caripi,  the  banks  of  which  are  inhab- 
ited by  Indians  and  half-breeds,  who  have 
Jived  there  for  many  generations  in  perfect 
seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  place 
being  little  known  or  frequented.  A  path 
from  Caripi  leads  to  it  through  a  gloomy 
tract  of  virgin  forest,  where  the  trees  are  so 
closely  packed  together  that  the  ground  be- 
neath is  thrown  into  the  deepest  shade,  under 
which  nothing  but  fetid  fungi  and  rotting 
vegetable  debris  is  to  be  seen.  On  emerging 
from  this  unfriendly  solitude  near  the  banks 

»of  the  Murucupi,  a  charming  contrast  is  pre- 
sented. A  glorious  vegetation,  piled  up  to 
an  immense  height,  clothes  the  banks  of  the 
creek,  which  traverses  a  broad  tract  of  semi- 
cultivated  ground,  and  the  varied  masses  of 
greenery  are  lighted  up  with  a  sunny  glow. 
Open  palm-thatched  huts  peep  forth  here 

.  and  there  from  amid  groves  of  banana, 
mango,  cotton,  and  papaw  trees  and  pulms. 
On  our  first  excursion,  we  struck  the  bauks 
of  the  river  in  front  of  a  house  of  somewhat 
more  substantial  architecture  than  the  rest, 
having  finished  mud  walls,  plastered  and 
whitewashed,  and  a  covering  of  red  tiles.  It 

.  seemed  to  be  full  of  children,  and  the  aspect 
of  the  household  was  improved  by  a  number 
of  good-looking  mameluco  women,  who  were 
busily  employed  washing,  spinning,  and 
making  farinha.  Two  of  them,  seated  on  a 
mat  in  the  open  veranda,  were  eugaged  sew. 
ing  dresses  ;  for  a  festival  was  going  to  take 
place  a  few  days  hence  at  Balcarem,  a  village 

'•fight  miles  distant  from  Murucupi,  and  they 
intended  to  be  present  to  hear  mass  and  show 
their  finery.  One  of  the  children,  a  naked 
boy  about  seven  years  of  age,  crossed  over 
with  the  montaria  to  fetch  us.  We  were 
made  welcome  at  ouce,  aud  asked  to  slay  for 
dinner.  On  our  accepting  the  invitation  a 
couple  of  fowls  were  killed,  and  a  wholesome 
stew  of  seasoned  rice  and  fowls  soon  put  in 
preparation.  It  is  not  often  that  the  female 
members  of  a  family  in  these  retired  places 
are  familiar  with  strangers  ;  but  these  people 
had  lived  a  long  time  in  the  capital,  and 

.therefore  were  more  civilized  than  their  neigh- 
bors. Their  father  had  been  a  prosperous 
tradesman  and  had  given  them  the  best  ed- 
ucation the  place  afforded.  After  his  death 
the  widow  with  several  daughters,  married 

:  and  unmarried,  retired  to  this  secluded  spot, 
which  had  been  their  sitio,  farm  or  country 

i  house,  for  many  years.     One  of  the  daugh- 


ters was  married  to  a  handsome  young  mi'. 
latto,  who  was  preset  «jid  sang  us  soms 
pretty  songs,  accompanying  himself  on  tb.3 
guitar. 

After  dinner  I  expressed  r,  wish  to  833 
more  of  the  creek,  so  a  lively  and  polite  old 
man,  whom  I  took  to  be  one  of  the  neighbors, 
volunteered  as  guide.  We  embarked  in  a 
little  montaria,  and  paddled  some  three  or 
four  miles  up  and  down  the  stream.  Although 
I  had  now  become  familiarized  with  beauti- 
ful vegetation,  all  the  glow  of  fresh  admiration 
came  again  to  me  in  this  place.  The  creek 
was  ab  nit  one  hundred  yards  wide,  but  nar- 
rower in  some  places.  Both  banks  were  mask- 
ed by  lofty  walls  of  green  drapery,  here  and 
there  a  break  occurring,  through  which,  under 
over-arching  trees,  glimpses  were  obtained  of 
the  palm-thatched  huts  of  settlers.  The  pro- 
jecting boughs  of  lofty  trees,  which  in  soms 
places  stretched  half-way  across  the  creek, 
were  hung  with  natural  garlands  and  festoons, 
and  an  endless  variety  af  creeping  plants 
clothed  the  water-frontage,  seme  of  which, 
especially  the  Bignonias,  were  ornamented 
with  large  gayly-colored  flowers.  Art  could 
not  have  assorted  together  beautiful  vegetable 
forms  so  harmoniously  as  was  here  done  by 
nature.  Palms,  as  usual,  formed  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  lower  trees ;  some  of  them, 
however,  shot  up  their  slim  stems  to  a  height 
of  sixty  feet  or  more,  and  waved  their 
bunches  of  nodding  plumes  between  us  and 
the  sky.  One  kind  of  palm,  the  Pashhiba 
(Iriartea  exorhiza),  which  grows  here  h 
greater  abundance  than  elsewhere,  was  espe 
cially  attractive.  It  is  not  one  of  the  tallest 
kinds,  for  when  full-grown  its  height  is  not 
more,  perhaps,  than. forty  feet  ;  the  leaves 
are  somewhat  less  drooping,  and  the  leaflets 
much  broader  than  in  other  species,  so  that 
they  have  not  that  feathery  appearance  which 
some  of  those  palms  have,  but  still  they  pos- 
sess their  own  peculiar  beauty.  My  guide 
put  me  ashore  in  one  place  to  show  me  the 
roots  of  the  Pashiuba.  These  grow  above 
ground,  radiating  from  the  trunk  many  feet 
above  the  surface,  so  that  the  tree  looks  as  if 
supported  on  stilts  ;  and  a  person  can,  in  old 
trees,  stand  upright  among  the  roots  with  the 
perpendicular  stem  wholly  above  his  head. 
It  adds  to  the  singularity  of  their  unnearance 
that  these  roots,  which  have  the  form  of 
straight  rods,  are  studded  with  stcnt  thorns, 
while  the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  quite  smooth. 
The  purpose  of  this  curious  arrangement  ic. 
perhaps,  similar  to  that  of  the  buttress  roots 
already  described — namely,  to  recompense 
the  tree  by  root  growth  above  ths  soil  for  its 
inability,  in  consequence  of  the  competition 
of  neighboring  roots,  to  extend  it  under- 
ground. The  great  amount  of  mcisture  and 
nutriment  contained  in  the  atmosphere  may 
aUo  favor  these  growths. 

On  returning  to  the  house,  I  fcund  Petzell 
had  been  well  occupied  during  the  hot  hours 
of  the  day  collecting  insects  in  a  neighboring 
clearing.  Our  kind  hosts  gave  us  a  cup  of 
coffee  about  five  o'clock,  and  we  then  started 
for  home.  The  last  mile  of  our  v.'Lik  was 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


performed  in  the  dark.  The  forest  in  this 
part  is  obscure  even  in  broad  dayrght,  but  I 
was  scarcely  prepared  for  the  intense  opacity 
of  darkness  which  reigned  here  on  this  night, 
and  which  prevented  us  from  seeing  each 
other,  although  walking  side  by  side.  Noth- 
ing occurred  of  a  nature  to  alarm  us,  except 
that  now  and  then  a  sudden  rush  was  heard 
among  the  trees,  and  once  a  dismal  shriek 
startled  us.  Petzell  tripped  at  one  place,  and 
fell  all  his  length  into  the  thicket.  With  this 
exception,  we  kept  well  to  the  pathway,  L.*?d 
in  due  time  arrived  safely  at  Caripi. 

One  of  my  neighbors  ai  Murucupi  was  a 
hunter  of  reputation  in  these  parts.  He  was 
a  civilized  Indian,  married  and  settled,  ramed 
Raimundo,  whose  habit  was  to  sally  forth  at 
intervals  to  certain  productive  hunting- 
grounds,  the  situation  of  which  he  kept  se- 
cret, and  procure  fresh  provisions  for  his 
family.  I  had  found  out  by  this  time  that 
animal  food  was  as  much  a  necessary  of  life 
in  this  exhausting  climate  as  it  is  in  the  North 
of  Europe.  An  attempt  which  I  made  to 
live  on  vegetable  food  was  quite  a  failure, 
and  I  could  not  eat  the  execrable  salt  fish 
which  Brazilians  use.  I  had  been  many  days 
without  meat  of  any  kind,  and  nothing  more 
was  to  be  found  near  Caripi,  so  I  asked  as  a 
favor  of  Senhor  Raimundo  permission  to  ac- 
company him  on  one  of  his  hunting  trips, 
and  shoot  a  little  game  for  my  own  use.  He 
consented,  and  appointed  a  day  on  which  I 
was  to  come  over  to  his  house  to  sleep,  so  as 
to  be  ready  for  starting  with  the  ebb-tide 
shortly  after  midnight. 

The  locality  we  were  to  visit  was  situated 
near  the  extreme  point  of  the  land  of  Carua- 
pijo,  where  it  projects  northwardly  into  the 
middle  of  the  Para  estuary,  and  is  broken 
into  a  number  of  islands.  On  the  afternoon 
of  January  llth,  1849,  I  walked  through  the 
woods  to  Raimundo's  house,  taking  nothing 
with  me  but  the  double-barrelled  gun,  a  sup- 
ply of  ammunition,  and  a  box  for  the  recep- 
tion of  any  insects  I  might  capture.  Rai- 
mundo was  a  carpenter,  and  seemed  to  be  a 
very  industrious  man  ;  he  had  two  appren- 
tices, Indians  like  himself — one  a  young  lad, 
and  the  other  apparently  about  twenty  years 
of  age..  His  wife  was  of  the  same  race.  The 
Indian  women  are  not  always  of  a  taciturn 
disposition  like  their  husbands.  Senhora 
Dominga  was  very  talkative ;  there  was 
another  old  squaw  at  the  house  on  a  visit, 
and  the  tongues  of  the  two  were  going  at  a 
great  rate  the  whole  evening,  using  only  the 
Tupi  language.  Raimundo  and  his  appren- 
tices were  employed  building  a  canoe.  Not- 
withstanding his  industry,  he  seemed  to  be 
very  poflr,  and  this  was  the  condition  of  most 
of  the  residents  on  the  banks  of  the  Muru- 
cupi. They  have,  nevertheless,  considerable 
plantations  of  mandioca  and  Indian  corn,  be- 
sides small  plots  of  cotton,  coffee,  and  sugar- 
cane ;  the  soil  is  very  fertile  ;  they  have  no 
rent  to  pay,  and  no  direct  taxes.  There  is, 
moreover,  always  a  market  in  Para,  twen'v 
miles  distant,  for  their  surplus  producyt  u* 


a  ready  communication  with  it  by  water. 

In  the  evening  we  had  more  visitors.  The 
sounds  of  pipe  and  tabor  were  heard,  and- 
presently  a  procession  of  villagers  emerged 
from  a  pathway  through  the  mandioca  fields. 
They  were  on  a  begging  expedition  for  SL 
Thome,  the  patron  saint  of  Indians  and  ma- 
melucos.  One  carried  a  banner,  on  which 
was  rudely  painted  the  figure  of  St.  Tht  m£ 
with  a  glory  round  his  head.  The  pipe  and 
tabor  were  of  the  simplest  description.  The 
pipe  was  a  reed  pierced  with  four  holes,  by 
means  of  which  a  few  unmusical  notes  were 
produced,  and  the  tabor  was  a  broad  hoop- 
with  a  skin  stretched  over  each  end.  A  de- 
formed young  man  played  both  the  instru- 
ments. Senhor  Raimundo  received  them 
with  the  quiet  politeness  which  comes  so  na- 
tural to  the  Indian  when  occupying  the  posi- 
tion of  host.  The  visitors,  who  had  come 
from  the  Villa  de  Conde,  five  miles  through 
the  forest,  were  invited  to  rest.  Raimundo 
then  took  the  image  of  St.  Thome  from  one 
of  the  party,  and  placed  it  by  the  side  of 
Nossa  Senhora  in  his  own  oratorio,  a  little 
decorated  box  in  which  every  family  keeps 
its  household  gods,  finally  lighting  a  couple 
of  wax  candles  before  it.  Shortly  afterward 
a  cloth  was  laid  on  a  mat,  and  all  the  guests 
were  invited  to  supper.  The  fare  was  very 
scanty  ;  a  boiled  fowl  with  rice,  a  slice  of 
roasted  piraructi,  farinha,  and  bananas. 
Each  one  partook  very  sparingly,  some  of 
the  young  men  contenting  themselves  with  a 
plateful  of  rice.  One  of  the  apprentices  stood, 
behind  with  a  bowl  of  water  and  a  towei 
with  which  each  guest  washed  hisfingeis  anu 
rinsed  his  mouth  after  the  meal.  TLey 
stayed  all  night  ;  the  large  open  sued  was 
filled  with  hammocks,  which  weresluug  fiom 
pole  to  pole  ;  andonretiiing,  Raimuudo  gave 
orders  for  their  breakfast  in  the  morning. 

Raimundo  called  me  at  two  o'clock,  when 
we  embarked  (he,  his  older  apprentice,  Joa- 
quim,  and  myself)  in  a  shady  place  where  it 
was  so  dark  that  I  could  see  neither  canoe 
nor  water,  taking  with  us  five  dogs.  We 
glided  down  a  winding  creek  where  huge- 
trunks  of  trees  slanted  across  close  overhead, 
and  presently  emerged  into  the  Muiucupi. 
A  few  yards  further  on  we  entered  the 
broader  channel  of  the  Aitiluba.  This  we 
crossed,  and  entered  another  narrow  creek  on 
the  opposite  side.  Here  the  ebb-tide  was 
against  us,  and  we  had  great  difficulty  iri 
making  progress.  After  we  had  struggled 
against  the  "powerful  current  a  distance  of 
two  miles,  we  came  to  a  part  where  the  ebb- 
tide ran  in  the  opposite  direction,  showing; 
that  we  had  crossed  the  water-shed.  The 
tide  flows  into  this  channel  or  cietk  at  both, 
ends  simultaneously,  and  meets  in  the  mid- 
dle, although  there  is  apparently  no  differ- 
ence of  level,  and  the  breadth  of  the  water  is 
the  same.  The  tides  are  extremely  intricate 
throughout  all  the  infinite  channels  and  creeks 
•which  intersect  the  lands  of  the  Amazon 
delta.  The  moon  now  broke  forth  tind  light- 
ed up  the  trunks  of  colossal  trees,  the  leaves 
of  monstrous  Jupati  palms  which  arched 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


.-ever  the  creek,  and  revealed  groups  of  arbo- 
lescent  arums  standing  like  rows  of  spectres 
*.u  its  banks.  We  had  a  glimpse  now  and 
then  into  the  black  depths  of  the  forest, 
^vvhere  all  was  silent  except  the  shrill  stridu- 
lation  of  wood  crickets.  Now  and  then  a 
sudden  plunge  in  the  water  ahead  would 
*tartle  us,  caused  by  heavy  fruit  or  some 
nocturnal  animal  dropping  from  the  trees. 
The  two  Indians  here  rested  on  their  paddles, 
and  allowed  the  canoe  to  drift  with  the  tide. 
A  pleasant  perfume  came  from  the  forest, 
which  Raimundo  said  proceeded  from  a  cane- 
field.  He  told  me  that  all  this^  laud  was 
owned  by  large  proprietors  at  Para,  who  had 
received  grants  from  time  to  time  from  the 
.-Government  for  political  services.  Raimun- 
do was  quite  in  a  talkative  humor  ;  he  re- 
Jateri  to  me  many  incidents  of  the  time  of  the 
"  Cabanagem,"  as  the  revolutionary  days  of 
1835-6  are  popularly  called.  He  said  he  had 
been  much  suspected  himself  of  being  a  rebel, 
but  declared  that  the  suspicion  was  unfound- 
ed. The  only  complaint  he  had  to  make 
against  the  white  man  was,  that  he  monopo- 
lized the  land  without  having  any  intention 
or  prospect  of  cultivating  it.  He  had  been 
turned  out  of  one  place  where  he  had  squat- 
ted and  cleared  a  large  piece  of  forest.  I  be 
lieve  the  law  of  Brazil  at  this  time  was  that 
the  new  lauds  should  become  the  property  of 
those  who  cleared  and  cultivated  them,  if 
their  right  was  not  disputed  within  a  given 
term  of  years  by  some  one  who  claimed  the 
proprietorship.  This  land  law  has  since  been 
repealed,  and  a  new  one  adopted,  founded  on 
that  of  the  United  States.  Raimundo  spoke 
<rf  his  race  as  the  red-skins,  "  pelle  vermel- 
io  ;"  they  meant  well  to  the  whites,  and  only 
begged  to  be  let  alone.  "  God,"  he  said, 
"had  given  room  enough  for  us  all."  It 
ivas  pleasant  to  hear  the  shrewd,  good-natured 
fellow  talk  in  this  strain.  Our  companion, 
Joaquim,  had  falltn  asleep  ;  the  n'ght  air 
was  cool,  and  the  moonlight  lit  up  the  fea- 
tures of  Rjiiruundo,  revealing  a  more  ani- 
mated expression  than  is  usually  observable 
in  Indian  countenances.  I  always  noticed 
that  Indians  were  more  cheerful  on  a  voyage, 
especially  in  the  cool  hours  of  night  and 
morning,  than  when  ashore.  There  is  some- 
thing in  their  constitution  of  body  which 
makes  them  feel  excessively  depressed  in  the 
hot  hours  of  the  day,  especially  inside  their 
houses.  Their  skin  is  always  hot  to  the 
touch.  They  certainly  do  not  endure  the 
heat  of  their  own  climate  so  well  as  tin) 
whites.  The  negroes  are  totally  different  in 
this  respect ;  the  heat  of  mid-day  has  very 
little  effect  on  them,  and  they  dislike  the  cold 
nights  on  the  river. 

We  arrived  at  our  hunting  ground  about 
half-past  four.  The  channel  was  here 
broader,  and  presented  several  ramifications. 
It  yet  wanted  an  hour  and  a  half  to  daybreak, 
so  Raimundo  recommended  me  to  have  » 
nap.  We  both  stretched  ourselves  oa  the 
benches  of  the  canoe  and  fell  asleep,  letting 
the  boa  drift  with  the  tide,  which  was  now 
/  5  If  pt  well,  considering  the  hardness 


of  our  bed,  and  when  I  awoke,  in  me  middle 
of  a  dream  about  home  scenes,  the  day  was 
beginning  to  dawn.  My  clothes  were  quite 
wet  with  the  dew.  The  birds  were  astir,  the 
cicadas  had  begub  their  music,  and  the 
Urania  Leilus,  a  strange  and  beautiful  tailed 
and  gilded  moth,  whose  habits  are  those  of  a 
butterfly,  commenced  to  fly  in  flocks  over  the 
tree-tops.  Raimundo  exclaimed,  "  Clarcia  o 
dia  !" — "  The  day  brightens  !"  The  change 
was  rapid  ;  the  sky  in  the  east  assumed  sud- 
denly the  loveliest  azure  color,  across  which 
streaks  of  thin  white  clouds  were  painted. 
It  is  at  such  moments  as  this  when  one  feels 
how  beautiful  our  earth  truly  is  !  The  chan- 
nel on  whose  waters  our  little  boat  was  float- 
ing was  ab^ut  two  hundred  yards  wide  ; 
others  branched  off  right  and  left,  surround- 
ing the  group  of  lonely  islands  which  termi- 
nate the  land  of  Caruapijo.  The  forest  oa 
all  sides  formed  a  lofty  hedge  without  a 
break  ;  below,  it  was  fringed  with  mangrove 
bushes,  whose  small  foliage  contrasted  with, 
the  large  glossy  leaves  of  the  taller  trees,  or 
the  feather  and  fan-shaped  fronds  of  palms. 

Being  now  arrived  at  our  destination,  Rai- 
muudo  turned  up  his  trousers  and  shirt- 
sleeves, took  his  long  hunting-knife,  and 
leaped  ashore  with  the  dogs.  He  had  to  cut 
a  gap  in  order  to  enter  the  forest,  We  ex- 
pected to  find  Pacas  and  Cutias  ;  and  the 
method  adopted  to  secure  them  was  this  :  At 
the  preseut  early  hour  they  would  be  seen 
feeding  on  fallen  fruits,  but  would  quickly, 
on  hearing  a  noise,  betake  themselves  to  tfieir 
burrows  :  Raimundo  was  then  to  turn  them 
out  by  means  of  the  dogs  and  Joaquim  and 
I  were  to  remain  in  the  boat  with  our  guns, 
ready  to  shoot  all  that  came  to  the  edge  of  the 
stream — the  habits  of  both  animals,  when 
hard-pressed,  being  to  take  to  the  water. 
We  hud  not  long  to  wait.  The  first  arrival 
was  aPaca,  a  reddish,  nearly  tailless  Rodent, 
spotted  with  white  on  the  sides,  and  interme- 
diate in  size  and  appearance  between  a  hog 
and  a  hare.  My  first  shot  did  not  take  effect ; 
the  animal  dived  into  the  water  and  dici  not 
reappear.  A  second  was  brought  down  by 
my  companion  as  it  was  rambling  about 
under  the  mangrove  bushes.  A  Cutia  next 
appeared  ,  this  is  also  a  Rodent,  about  one- 
third  the  size  of  the  Paca  :  it  swims,  but  does 
not  dive,  and  1  was  fortunate  enough  to  shoot 
it.  We  obtained  in  this  way  two  more  Pacas 
and  another  Cutia.  All  the  time  the  dogs 
were  yelping  in  the  forest.  Shortly  after- 
ward Raimundo  made  his  appearance,  and 
told  us  to  paddle  to  the  other  side  of  the 
island.  Arrived  there,  we  landed  and  pre- 
pared for  breakfast.  It  was  a  pretty  spot — a 
clean,  white,  sandy  beach  beneath  the  shade 
of  wide-spreading  trees.  Joaquim  made  a 
fire.  He  first  scraped  fine  shavings  from  the 
midrib  of  a  Bacaba  palm-leaf  ;  these  he  piled 
into  a  little  heap  in  a  dry  place,  and  then 
struck  a  light  in  his  bamboo  tinder-box  with 
a  piece  of  an  old  file  and  a  Hint,  the  tinder 
being  a  felt-like,  soft  substance  manufactured 
by  an  ant  (Polyrhachis  bispinosus).  By  gen- 
tle blowing  the  shavings  ignited,  car  stick* 


THE  NATURALIST  Oil    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


were  piled  on  them,  and  a  good  fire  soon  re- 
sulted.    He  then  singed  and  prepared   the 
cutia,  finishing  by  running  a  spit  through  the 
body,  and  fixing  one  end  in  the  ground  in  a 
Slanting  position  over  the  fire.       We  had 
I  brought  with  us  a  bag  of  f  arinha  and  a  cup 
!  containing  a  lemon,  a  dozen  or  two  of  fiery 
red  peppers,  and  a  few  spoonfuls  of   salt. 
We  breakfasted  heartily  when  our  cutia  wa3 
roasted,  and  washed  the  meal  down  with  a 
i  calabash  full  of  the  pure  water  of  the  river. 
f     After  breakfast    the  dogs  found  another 
cutia,  which  was  hidden  in  its  burrow  two 
or  three  feet  beneath  the  roots  of  a  large  tree, 
and  took  Raimundo  nearly  an  hour  to  disin- 
ter it.     Soon  afterward  we  left   this  place^ 
crossed  the  channel,  and,  paddling  past  twol 
3t  ibtiined  a  glimpse  of  the  broad  river 
ft-,   tt.em,  witli  a  long  sandy  spit,  ofi 
if  ioai  several  scared  ibises  and  snoW«| 
i  crets.     One  of  the  islands  was  krtp 
and  Lat-dy,  and  half  of  it  was  covered  with 
gigantic    arum-trees,     the    often-mentioned 
Caladium    arborescens,  which    presented   a 
Strange  sight.      Most  people  are  acquainted 
with  the  little  British  species,  Arum  macula- 
turn,   which  grows    in  hedge-bottoms,   and 
many,   doubtless,  have  admired  the  largei 
kinds  grown  in  hot-houses  ;  they  can  there-; 
fore  form  some  idea  of  a  forest  of  arums. 
On  this  islet  the  woody  stems  of  the  plants 
i  near  the  bottom  were  eight  to  ten  inches  in 
)  diameter,  and  the  trees  were  twelve  to  fifteen 
(feet  high,    all  growing  together  in  such  a 
manner  that  there  was  just  room  for  a  maa 
io  walk  freely  between  them.     There  was  $ 
canoe  in-shore,  with  a  man  and  a  woman  ;j 
the  man,  who  was  hooting  with  all  his  mightj,' 
told  us  in  passing  that  his  son  was  lost  iQ 
the  "  aningal"  (arum-grove).  He  had  strayed 
I  while  walking  ashore,  and  the  father  *iad, 
been  an  hour  waiting  for  him  in  vain. 

About  one  o'clock  we  again  stopped  al  die 
mouth  of  a  little  creek.  It  was  now  intense* 
iy  hot.  Raimundo  said  deer  were  found 
here ;  so  he  borrowed  my  gun,  as  being  a 
more  effective  weapon  thaoi  the  wretched 
arms  called  Lazarinos,  which  he,  in  common, 
with  all  the  ^native  hunters,  used,  and  which !, 
sell  at  Para  for  seven  or  eight  shillings' 
apiece.  Raimundo  and  Joaquim  now  stripped  i 
themselves  quite  naked,  and  started  off  in 
different  directions  through  the  forest,  going 
naked  in  order  to  move  with  less  noise  over 
the  carpet  of  dead  leaves,  among  which  they 
stepped  so^  stealthily  that  not  the  slightest 
HL3H  )  .^b".  bQ  heard.  The  dogs  remained 
&  tf  3  |^t'*f  $A  the  neighborhood  of  which  I 
ern(LO]Q^V  iyself  two  hours  entomologizing. 
At  the3B&  of  that  time  my  two  companions 
returned,  having  met  with  no  game  whatever. 
We  now  embarked  on  our  return  voyage, 
Raimundo  cut  two  slender  poles,  one  for  3 
mast  and  the  other  for  a  sprit :  to  these  he 
rigged  a  sail  we  had  brought  in  the  boat,  foy 
we  were  to  return  by  the  open  river,  and  ex- 
pected a  good  wind  to  carry  us  to  Caripio  As 
soon  as  we  got  out  of  the  channel  we*  began 
to  feel  the  wind — the  sea-breeze,  wh;ch  ber3 
ttiakes  a  clean  sweep  from  the  AtlariJ  3.  Out 


tooat  was  very  small  i^d  heavily  to.ien  ;  and 
when,  after  rounding  a  point,  I  saw  the  great 
breadth  we  had  to  traverse  (seven  miles),  I 
thought  the  attempt  tc  eros&in  such  a  slight 
vessel  foolhardy  in.  the  extreme.    The  waves 
ran  very  high:   there  was  no  rudder;  Rai- 
mundo steered  with  a  mddle,  and  all  we  bud 
to  rely  upon  to  save  tj  from  falling  Into  the 
trough  of  the  sea  and  b>ing  instantly  e-vamped  s 
were  his  nerve  and  /Mil.     There  :vas  just 
room  in  the  boat  for  cur  three  se.ves,  the 
dogs,  and  the  game  w  3  had  killed  ;  ?  id  when 
between  the  swelling  ridges  of  we ^  »  in  so- 
frail  a  shell,  our  destruction  seemed  inevita- 
ble ;  as  it  was,  we  shipped  a  little  w*ter  now 
and  then.    Joaquim  assisted  with  Kc  paddle 
to  steady  the  boat ;  n.y  tune  was  ivlly  occu- 
pied in  baling  out  tiie  water  and  matching 
the  dogs,  which  were  crowded  together  in. 
the  prow,  yelling  with  fear,  one  or  other  of 
them  occasionally  falling  over  the  side  and 
causing  great  commotion  in  scrambling  in. 
again.     Off  the  poirit  was  a  ridge  cf  rocks, 
over  which  the  sun?  3  raged  furiously.     Rai- 
mundo sat  in  the  si  ;rn,  rigid  and  sihnt ;  his- 
eye  steadily  watch:  tg  the  prow  of  rhe  boat. 
It  was  almost  wort    the  risk  and  cic  com  for  ir- 
of  the  passage  tc  witness   the    se.  manlike - 
ability  displayed  b\  Indians  on  tlie  water. 
The  little  boat  rode  beautifully,  rising  well, 
with  each  wave,  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour: 
and  a  half  we  arrived  at  Caripi,  tLoi  Jughlj, 
tired  and  wet  through,  to  the  skin. 

On  the  16th  of  January  the  d*y  seasor 
came  abruptly  to  an  end.     The  seL-breezes 
which  had  been  increasing  in  force  for  some 
days,  suddenly  ceased,  and  the  atmosphere- 
became  misty  ;  at  length  heavy  clouds  collect- 
ed where  a  uniform,  blue  sky  had  for  uianyr 
weeks  prevailed,  and  down  came  a  recession* 
of  heavy  showers,  the  first  of  which  .  asted  a* 
whole  day  and  night     This  seemed  to  give  a- 
new  stimulus  to  animal  life.     On  the  firsfr, 
night  there  was  a  -tremendous  uprcai  —tree- 
frogs,  crickets,  g -at- suckers,  and  owls  all 
joining  to  perforir  a  deafening  conceit.   One, 
kind  of  goat-sucker  kept  repeating  at  inter- 
vals throughout  tie  night  a  phrase  ti-riiar  to, 
the  Portuguese  wads,  **  Joao  corta  pao," — 
"John,  cut  wooc  ;"  a  phrase  which  forms*. 
ihe  Brazilian  nam  j  of  the  bird.    An  owl  im 
one  of  the  Genipe,;)a  trees  muttered  ZY  w  and: 
then  a  succession  of  syllables  resemb.  ng  the 
word  "  MurucututiL      Sometimes  t'lecroak- 
?ng  and  hooting  of  fregs  and  toads  ""  ere  so. 
jkmd  that  we  cculd  not  hear  one  another 's 
voices  within  doo'Sv    Swarms  of  dragon-flies- 
appeared  in  the  laytime  about  the  p  :>cls  of 
water  created  by  fche  rain,  and  ants  ai.d  ter- 
mites came  forth  in  the  winged  state  In  vast, 
numbers.  I  noticed  that  the  winged  termites,, 
or  white  ants,  wLichcame  by  huudiec'stothe- 
lamps  at  night  when  alighting  on  the  table,. 
often  jerked  off  their  wings  by  a  7oluntaiy 
movement.     On  examination.  I  fr*Jad  that?- 
the  wings  were  not  shed  by  the  rools,  for  a*, 
small  portion  of  the  stumps  remained  attached 
to  the  thorax.     The  edge  of  the  fracrure  wasj 
in  all  cases  straight,  not  mptursrl  •  there  is,, 
iu  fact^  a  natural  seam    rowing  vb  -- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


665 


toward  its  root,  and  at  this  point  the  long 
-wing  naturally  drops  or  is  jerked  off  when 
*he  insect  has  no  further  use  for  it.  The 
white  ant  is  endowed  with  wings  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  flying  away  from  the  colony 
peopled  by  its  wingless  companions,  to  pair 
with  individuals  of  the  same  or  other  colonies, 
-»nd  thus  propagate  and  disseminate  its  kind. 
The  winged  individuals  are  malts  and  fe- 
males, while  the  great  bulk  of  their  wingless 
fraternity  are  of  no  sex,  but  are  of  two  castes, 
soldiers  and  workers,  which  are  restricted  to 
tiie  functions  of  building  the  nests,  nursing, 
and  defending  the  young  brood.  The  two 
sexes  mate  while  on  the  ground  after  the 
wings  are  shed ;  and  then  the  married 
couples,  if  they  escape  the  numerous  enemies 
"which  lie  in  wait  for  them,  proceed  to  the 
4  ask  of  founding  new  colonies.  Ants  and 
white  ants  have  much  that  is  analogous  in 
their  modes  of  life  ;  they  belong,  however, 
1o  two  widely  different  orders  of  insects, 
strongly  contrasted  in  their  structure  and 
manner  of  growth. 

I  amassed  at  Oaripi  a  very  large  collection 
of  beautiful  and  curious  insects,  amounting 
^altogether  to  about  twelve  hundred  species. 
The  number  of  Coleoptera  was  remarkable, 
seeing  that  this  order  is  so  poorly  represented 
near  Para.  I  attributed  their  abundance  to 
the  number  of  new  clearings  made  in  the  vir- 
gin forest  by  the  native  settlers.  The  felled 
timber  attracts  lignivorous  insects,  and  these 
•draw  in  tneir  train  the  predaceous  species  of 
various  families.  As  a  general  rule,  the 
.•species  were  smaller  and  much  less  brilliant 
in  colors  than  those  of  Mexico  and  South 
Brazil.  The  species  too,  although  numerous 
were  not  represented  by  great  numbers  of 
individuals  ;  they  were  also  extremely  nimble, 
41  nd  therefore  much  less  easy  of  capture  than 
insects  of  the  same  order  in  temperate  cli- 
mates. The  carnivorous  beetles  at  C?ripi 
"were,  like  those  of  Para,  chiefly  arboreal. 
Most  of  them  exhibited  a  beautiful  conKv- 
iince  for  enabling  them  to  cling  to  and  run 
over  smooth  or  flexible  surfaces,  such  as 
leaves.  Their  tarsi  or  feet  are  broad,  and 
furnished  beneath  with  a  brush  of  short,  stiff 
liairs,  while  their  claws  are  toothed  in  the 
form  of  a  comb,  adapting  thorn  for  clinging 
to  the  smooth  edges  of  leaves,  the  joint  of 
the  foot  which  precedes  the  claw  being  cleft 
so  as  to  allow  free  play  to  the  claw  in  grasp- 
ing. The  common  dung-beetles  at  Caripf, 
which  flew  about  in  the  evening  like  the 
•Ge  'trupes,  the  familiar  "  shardborne  beetle 
with  his  drowsy  hum"  of  our  English  lanes, 
were  of  colossal  size  and  beautiful  colors. 
One  kind  had  a  long  spear-shaped  horn  pro- 
jecting from  the  crown  of  its  head  (Phaua3us 
lancifcr).  A  blow  from  this  fellow,  as  he 
<iame  heavily  flying  along,  was  never  very 
pleasant.  All  the  tribes  of  beetles  which  feed 
on  vegetable  substances,  fresh  or  decayed, 
Tvere  very  numerous.  The  most  beautiful  of 
these,  but  not  the  most  common,  were  the 
Longicornes,  very  graceful  insects,  having 
slender  bodies  and  long  antemue,  often  orna- 
mented with  fringes  and  tufts  of  hair.  They 


were  found  on  flowers,  on  trunks  of  trees,  or 
flying  about  the  new  clearings.  One  small 
species  (Coreinia  hirtipes)  has  a  tuft  of  hair 
on  its  hind  legs,  while  many  of  its  sister  spe- 
cies have  a  similar  ornament  on  the  antennae. 
It  suggests  curious  reflections  when  we  see 
an  ornament  like  the  feather  of  a  grenadier's 
cap  situated  on  one  part  of  the  body  in  one 
species,  and  in  a  totally  different  part  in 
nearly  allied  ones.  I  tried  in  vain  to  discover 
the  use  of  these  curious  brush-like  decora- 
tions. On  the  trunk  of  a  living  leguminous 
tree,  Petzell  found  a  number  of  a  very 
rare  and  handsome  species,  the  Platyster- 
nus  hebraeus,  which  is  of  a  broad  shape, 
colored  ochreous,  but  spotted  and  striped 
with  black,  so  as  to  resemble  a  domino. 
On  the  felled  trunks  of  trees,  swarms 
of  gilded-green  Longicornea  occurred,  of 
small  size  (Chrysoprasis),  which  looked  like 
miniature  musk-beetles,  and,  indeed,  are 
closely  allied  to  those  well-known  European 
insects. 

At  length,  on  the  12th  of  February,  I  left 
Caripi,  my  negro  and  Indian  neighbors  bid- 
ding me  a  warm  "  adeos."  I  had  passed  a 
delightful  time,  notwithstanding  the  many 
privations  undergone  in  the  way  of  food. 
The  wet  season  had  now  set  in  ;  the  low- 
lands and  islands  Would  soon  become  flooded 
daily  at  high  water,  and  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining fresh  provisions  would  increase.  I 
intended,  therefore,  to  spend  the  next  three 
months  at  Para,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
which  there  was  still  much  to  be  done 
in  the  intervals  of  fine  weather,  and  then 
start  off  on  another  excursion  into  the  in- 
terior. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   LOWER  AMAZONS — PARA.  TO   OBYDOS. 

Modes  of  Travelling  on  the  Amazons— Preparations 
for  Voyage— Life  on  Board  a  large  Trading-vessel— 
The  Narrow  Channels  joining  the  Para  to  the  Ama- 
zons—First sight,  of  the  Great  River— Gurupa— The 
Great  Shoal— Flat-topped  Mountains— Santarem— 
Obydos. 

AT  the  time  of  my  first  voyage  up  the  Am- 
azons— namely,  in  1849 — nearly  all  commu- 
nication with  the  interior  was  by  means  of 
small  sailing-vessels,  owned  by  traders  resid- 
ing in  the  remote  towns  and  villages,  who 
seldom  came  to  Para  themselves,  but  in- 
trusted vessels  and  cargoes  to  the  care  of 
half-breeds  or  Portuguese  cabos.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  they  risked  all  in  the  hands  of  the 
Indian  crew,  making  the  pilot,  who  was  also 
steersman,  do  duty  as  supercargo.  Now  and 
then,  Portuguese  and  Brazilian  merchants  at 
Para,  furnished  young  Portuguese  with  mer- 
chandise, and  dispatched  them  to  the  interior, 
to  exchange  the  goods  for  produce  among 
the  scattered  population.  The  means  of  com 
inunication,  in  fact,  with  the  upper  parts  of 
the  Amazons  had  been  on  the  decrease  for 
some  time,  on  account  of  the  augmented 
difficulty  of  obtaining  hands  to  navigate  ves- 
sels. Formerly,  when  the  Government 
wished  to  send  any  important  functionary, 
such  as  a  judge  or  a  military 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIYER  AMAZONS. 


into  the  interior,  they  equipped  a  swift-sail- 
ing  galliota,  manned  with  ten  or  a  dozen  In- 
dians. These  could  travel,  on  the  average, 
in  one  day  farther  than  the  ordinary  sailing 
craft  could  in  three.  Indian  paddlers  were 
now,  however,  almost  impossible  to  be  ob- 
tained, and  Government  officers  were  obliged 
to  travel  as  passengers  in  trading-vessels. 
The  voyage  made  in  this  way  was  tedious  in 
the  extreme.  When  the  regular  east  wind 
blew — the  "  vento  geral,"  or  trade-wind  of 
the  Amazons — sailing-vessels  could  get  along 
very  well ;  but  when  this  failed  they  were 
obliged  to  remain,  sometimes  mauy  days  to- 
gether, anchored  near  the  shore,  or  progress 
laboriously  by  means  ot  tiie  '  espia."  The 
latter  mode  of  travelling  was  as  follows. 
The  montaria,  with  twenty  or  thirty  fathoms 
of  cahle,  one  end  of  which  was  attached  to 
the  foremast,  was  sent  ahead  with  a  couple 
of  hands,  who  secured  the  other  end  of  the 
rope  to  some  strong  bough  or  iree-trunk  ;  the 
crew  then  hauled  the  vessel  up  to  the  point, 
after  which  the  men  in  the  boat  re-embarked 
the  cable,  and  paddled  forward  to  repeat  the 
process.  In  the  dry  season,  from  August  to 
December,  when  the  trade- wind  is  strong 
and  the  currents  slack,  a  schooner  could 
reach  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  a  thou- 
sand miles  from  Para,  in  about  forty  days ; 
but  in  the  wet  season,  from  January  to  July, 
when  the  east  wind  no  longer  blows,  and  the 
Amazon  pours  forth  its  full  volume  of 
water,  flooding  the  banks  and  producing  a 
tearing  current,  it  took  three  mojjths  to  travel 
the  same  distance.  It  was  a  great  blessing 
to  the  inhabitants  when,  in  1853,  a  line  or 
steamers  was  established,  and  this  same  jour- 
ney could  be  accomplished,  with  ease  und 
comfort,  at  all  seasons,  in  eight  days  I 

While  preparing  for  my  voyage  it  hap- 
pened, fortunately,  that  the  half-brother  of 
Dr.  Angelo  Custodio,  a  young  mestizo, 
named  JoaO  da  Cunha  Correia,  was  about 
starting  for  the  Amazons  on  a  trading  expe- 
dition in  his  own  vessel,  a  schooner  of  about 
forty  tons'  burden.  A  passage  for  ine  was  soon 
arranged  with  him  through  the  Intervention 
of  Dr.  Angelo,  and  we  started  on  the  5th  of 
September,  1849.  I  intended  to  stop  at  one  vil-i 
lage  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Lower  Am-, 
azons,  where  it  would  be  interesting  to  make! 
collections,  in  order  to  show  the  relations  of 
the  fauna  to  those  of  Para  and  the  coast  re- 
gion of  Guiana.  As  I  should  have  to  hire  a' 
house  or  hut  wherever  I  stayed,  I  took  ail 
the  materials  for  housekeeping  —  cooking 
utensils,  crockery,  and  so  forth.  To  these 
Were  added  a  stock  of  such  provisions  as  it 
would  be  difficult  to  obtain  in  the  interior  * 
also  ammunition,  chests,  store-boxes,  a  small 
library  of  natural  history  books,  and  a  hun- 
dred-weight of  copper  money.  I  engaged, 
after  some  trouble,  a  mameluco  youth  to  ac- 
company me  as  servant — a  short,  fat,  yellow- 
faced  boy  named  Luco,  whom  I  had  already 
employed  at  Para  in  collecting.  We  weighed 
anchor  at  night,  and,  on  the  following  dav, 
vound  ourselves  gliding  along  the  dark-Drown 


waters  of  the  Mojn. 

Joa5  da  Cunha,  like  most  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen,  took  matters  very  easily.     He- 
was  going  to  be  absent  in  the  interior  severaj 
years,  and  therefore  intended  to  diverge  fron? 
his  route  to  visit  his  native  place,  Cameta. 
and  spend  a  few  days  with  his  friends      It. 
seemed  not  to  matter  to  him  that  he  had  at 
cargo  of  merchandise,  vessel,   and  crew  of 
twelve  persons,  which  required  an  economi- 
cal use  of  time  ;  "  pleasure  first  and  business, 
afterward  "  appeared  to  be  his  maxim.     We 
stayed  at  Cameta  twelve  days.     The  chier 
motive  for  prolonging  the  stay  to  this  extent 
was  a  festival  at  the  Aldeia,  two  miles  buiow 
Oameta,    which   was  to  commence   on    the- 
21st,  and  which  my  friend  wished  to  take  part 
in.     On  the  day  of  the  festival  the  schooner 
was  sent  down  to  anchor  off  the  Aldeia,  and 
master  and  men  gave  themselves  up  to  rev- 
elry.    In  the  evening  a  strong  breeze  sprang 
up,  and  orders  were  given  to  embark.     We 
scrambled  down  in  the  dark    through    the- 
thickets  of  cacao,  orange,  stud  coffee  trees* 
which  clothed  the  high  bank,  and,  after  run- 
ning great  risk  of  being  swamped   by  the- 
heavy  sea  in  the  crowded  montaria,  got  al) 
aboard  by  nine  o'clock.     We  made  all  sail 
amid  the  "  adeos"  shouted  to  us  by  Indian- 
and  mulatto  sweethearts  from  the  top  of  the~ 
bank,  and,  tide  and  wind  being  favorable, 
were  soon  miles  away. 

Our  crew  consisted,  as  already  mentioned, 
of  twelve  pei  sons.     One  was  a  young  Portu 
guese  from  the  province  of  Traz  os  Monies, 
a  pretty  sample  of  the  kind  of  emigrants 
which   Portugal  sends  to  Brazil.      He  was- 
two  or  three  and  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
had  been  about  two  years  in  the  country, 
dressing  and  living  like  the  Indians,  to  whom? 
he  was  certainly  inferior  in  manners.     He 
could  not  read  or  wwte,  whereas  one  at  least 
of  our  Tapuyos  had  both  accomplishments. 
He  had  a  little  wooden    image   of    Nossa, 
Senhora  in  his  rough  wooden  clothes-chest, 
and  to  this  he  always  had  recourse  when  any 
squall  arose,  or  when  we  got  aground  on  a 
shoal.     Another  of  our  sailors  was  a  tawny 
white  of  Camel  &  ;  the  rest  were  Indians,  ex- 
cept the  cook,  who  was  a  Cafuzo,  or  half- 
'breed  between  the  Indian  and  negro.     It  I* 
often  said  that  this  class  of  mestizos  is  the 
most  evilly  disposed  of  all  the  numerous 
crosses  between  the  races  inhabiting  Brazil  : 
but  Luiz  was  a  simple,  good-hearted  fellow, 
always  ready  to  do  one  a  service.     The  pilot 
i  was  an  old  Tapuyo  of  Para,  with  regular  oval> 
face  and  well-shaped  features.     I  was  aston- 
ished at  his  endurance.     He  never  quitted 
the  helm  night  or  day,   except  for  two  or 
three  hours  In  the  morning.     The  other  In- 
dians used  to  bring  him  his  coffee  and  meals 
and  after  breakfast  one  of  them  relieved  hirr» 
for  a  time,  when  he  used  to  He  down  on  the- 
quarter-deck   and   get  his  two  hours'  nap. 
The  Indians  forward  had  things  pretty  much 
thim  own  way.     No  system  of  watches  wa* 
fol-owed  ;  when  any  one  was  so  disposed,  he 
lay  down  on  the  deck  and  wt  nl  to  sleep  ;  but 
tt  feeling  of  good-fellowskip  seemed  always 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


667 


Jo  exist  among  thorn.  One  of  them  was  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  Indian  race — a  man  very 
litt'e  shoit  of  six  feet  high,  with  remarkable 
breadth  of  shoulder  and  full  muscular  chest. 
His  comrades  called  him  the  commandant, 
on  account  of  his  having  bren  one  of  the 
Tebel  leaders  When  the  Indians  and  others 
iook  Santarem  in  1835.  Tney  related  of  him 
that,  when  the  legal  authorities  arrived  with 
an  armed  flotilla  to  recapture  the  town,  he 
was  one  of  the  last  to  quit,  remaining  in  the 
little  fortress  which  commands  the  place  to 
make  a  show  of  loading  the  guns,  although 
the  ammunition  had  given  out  long  ago. 
Such  were  our  travelling  companions.  We 
lived  almost  the  same  as  on  board  ship.  Our 
meals  were  cooked  in  the  galley  ;  but,  where 
practicable,  and  during  our  numerous  stop- 
pages, the  men  went  in  the  moutaria  to  fish 
near  the  shore,  so  that  our  breakfasts  and 
dinners  of  salt  pirarecu  were  sometimes  va- 
ried with  fresh  food. 

September  24#i. — We  passed  Entre-as-llhas 
with  the  morning  tide  yesterday,  and  theu 
made  across  to  the  eastern  shore — the  start- 
ing-point for  all  canoes  which  have  tt>  tra- 
verse the  broad  mouth  of  the  Tocantins,  go- 
ing west.  Early  this  morning  we  commenced 
the  passage.  The  navigation  is  attended 
with  danger,  on  account  of  the  extensive 
shoals  in  the  middle,  of  the  river,  which  are 
covered  only  by  a  small  depth  of  water  at 
this  season  of  the  year  The  wind  was  fresh, 
and  the  schooner  rolled  and  pitched  /ike  a 
jhip  at  sea.  The  distance  was  about  fifteen 
miles.  In  the  middle,  the  r;yer-view  was 
very  imposing.  Toward  the  north-east  there 
was  a  long  sweep  of  hc«7x>n  clear  of  land, 
and  on  the  south-wjst  stretched  a  similar 
boundless  expanse,  but  varied  with  islets 
clothed  with  fan-leaved  palms,  which,  how- 
ever, were  visible  only  as  isolated  groups  of 
-columns,  *,ufted  at  the  top,  rising  here  and 
}here  amid  ihe  waste  of  waters.  In  tne  af  ter- 
looa  we  rounded  the  westernmost  p  >int ;  the 
land,  which  is  not  terra  firrna,  but  simply  a 
group  of  large  islands  forming  a  portion  of 
the  Tocantins  delta,  was  theu  about  three 
miles  distant. 

On  the  following  day  (25th)  we  sailed  to- 
ward the  west,  along  the  upper  portion  of  the 
Par&  estuary,  which  extends  seventy  miles 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Tocantins.  It  va- 
ries in  width  from  three  to  five  miles,  but 
broadens  rapidly  near  its  termination,  where 
it  is  eight  or  nine  miles  wide.  The  northern 
shore  is  formed  by  the  Island  of  Maraj6,  and 
is  slightly  elevated  and  rocky  in  some  parts. . 
A  series  of  islands  conceals  the  southern 
shore  from  view  most  part  of  the  way.  The 
whole  country,  mainland  and  islands,  is  cov- 
ered with  forest.  We  had  a  good  wind  all 
day,  and  about  seven  P.M.  entered  the  nar- 
row river  of  Breves,  which  commences  ab- 
ruptly the  extensive  labyrinth  of  channels 
that  connects  the  Para  with  the  Amazons. 
The  sudden  termination  of  the  Para,  at  a 
point  where  it  expands  to  so  great  a  breadth, 
is  remarkable  ;  the  water,  however,  is  very 
shallow  ovor  the  greater  portion  of  the  ex* 


panse.  I  noticed,  both  on  this  and  on  the 
three  subsequent  occasions  of  passing  this 
place,  in  ascending  and  descending  the  river, 
that  the  flow  of  the  tide  from  the  east  alon  * 
the  estuary,  as  well  as  up  the  Breves,  w;u* 
very  strong.  This  seems  sufficient  toprovj 
that  no  considerable  volume  of  water  passes 
by  this  medium  from  the  Amazons  to  tho 
Para,  and  that  the  opinion  of  those  geog- 
raphers is  an  incorrect  one,  who  believe  Ilia 
Para  to  be  one  of  the  mouths  of  the  great  ri  ver. 
There  is,  however,  another  channel  connect- 
ing the  two  rivers,  which  enters  the  Para  six 
miles  to  the  south  of  the  Breves.  The  lower 
part  of  its  course  for  eighteen  miles  is  forme;  t 
by  the  Uanapu,  a  large  and  independent  river 
flowing  from  the  south.  The  tidal  flow  is; 
said  by  the  natives  to  produce  little  .or  no 
current  up  this  river — a  fact  which  seems  to 
afford  a  little  support  to  the  view  just  slated. 
We  passed  the  village  of  Breves  at  three 
P.M.  on  the  26th.  It  consists  of  about  forty 
houses,  most  of  which  are  occupied  by  Por- 
tuguese shopkeepers.  A  few  Indian  families 
reside  here,  who  occupy  themselves  with  the 
manufacture  of  ornamental  pottery  and 
painted  cuyas,  which  they  sell  to  traders  or 
passing  travellers.  The  cuyas  —  drinking 
cups  made  from  gourds — are  somotimes  very 
tastefully  painted.  The  rich  black  ground- 
color is  produced  by  a  dye  made  from  the 
bark  of  a  tree  called  Comateii,  the  gummy 
nature  of  which  imparts  a  fine  polish.  The 
yellow  tints  are  made  with  the  Tabatinira 
clay  ;  the  red  with  the  seeds  of  the  Urucu, 
or  anatto  plant ;  and  the  blue  with  indigo, 
which  is  planted  round  the  huts.  The  art  is 
indigenous  with  the  Amazonian  Indians,  but 
it  is  only  the  settled  agricultural  tribes  be- 
longing to  the  Tupi  stock  who  practise  it. 

September  27  th-3Qth. — After  passing  Breves 
we  continued  our  way  slowly  along  a  chan- 
nel, or  series  of  channels,  of  variable  width. 
On  the  morning  of  the  27th  we  had  a  fair 
wind,  the  breadth  of  the  stream  varying  from 
about  150  to  400  yards.  About  midday  we 
passed,  on  the  western  side,  the  mouth  of  the 
Aturiazal,  through  which,  on  account  of  its 
swifter  current,  vessels  pass  in  descending 
from  the  Amazons  to  Para.  Shortly  after- 
ward we  entered  the  narrow  channel  of  the 
Jaburii,  which  lies  twenty  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Breves.  Here  commences  the 
peculiar  scenery  of  this  remarkable  region. 
We  found  ourselves  in  a  narrow  and  nearly 
straight  canal,  not  more  than  eighty  lo  a  hun- 
dred jards  in  width,  and  hemmed  in  by  two 
walls  of  fo  est,  which  rose  quite  perpendicu- 
larly from  the  water  to  a  height  of  seventy 
or  eighty  feet.  The  water  was  of  great  and 
uniform  depth,  even  close  to  the  banks.  We 
seemed  to  be  in  a  deep  gorge,  and  the  strange 
impression  the  place  produced  was  augmented 
by  the  dull  echoes  wakened  by  the  voices  of 
our  Indians  and  the  splash  of  their  paddles. 
The  forest  was  excessively  varied.  Some  of 
the  trees,  the  dome-topped  giants  of  the 
Leguminous  and  Bombaceous  orders,  reared 
•heir  heads  far  above  the  average  height  of 
v^o  ijreen  walls.  The  fan-leaved  MiiitT  palm 


668 


1HE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


was  scattered  in  some  numbers  amid  the 
rest,  a  few  solitary  specimens  shooting  up 
their  smooth  columns  above  the  other  trees. 
The  graceful  Assai  palm  grew  in  little 
groups,  forming  feathery  pictures  set  in  the 
rounder  foliage  of  the  mass.  The  Ubussu, 
lower  in  height,  showed  only  its  shuttlecock- 
shaped  crowns  of  huge  undivided  fronds,  | 
which,  being  of  a  vivid  pale-green,  contrasted 
forcibly  against  the  sombre  hues  of  the  sur- 
rounding foliage.  The  Ubussu  grew  here  in 
great  numbers ;  the  equally  remarkable 
Jupali  palm  (Rhaphia  taedigera),  which,  like 
the  Ubussu,  is  peculiar  to  this  district,  oc- 
curred more  sparsely,  throwing  its  long 
shaggy  leaves,  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  length,  in 
broad  arches  over  the  canal.  An  infinite  di- 
versity of  smaller-sized  palms  decorated  the 
water's  edge,  such  as  the  Maraja-i  (Bactris, 
many  species),  the  Ubim  (Geonoma),  and  a 
few  stately  Bacabas  ((Enocarpus  bacaba). 
The  shape  of  this  last  is  exceedingly  elegant, 
the  size  of  the  crown  being  in  proper  pro- 
portion to  the  straight  smooth  stem.  The 
leaves,  down  even  to  the  bases  of  the  glossy 
petioles,  are  of  a  rich  dark -green  color,  and 
free  from  spines.  "  The  forest  wall  " — I  am 
extracting  from  rny  journal — "  under  which, 
we  are  now  moving,  consists,  besides  palms, 
of  a  great  variety  of  ordinary  forest-trees. 
Prom  the  highest  branches  of  these  down  to 
the  water  sweep  ribbons  of  climbing  plants, 
of  the  most  diverse  and  ornamental  foliage 
possible.  Creeping  convolvuli  and  others 
have  made  use  of  the  slender  lianas  and  hang- 
ing air-roots  as  ladders  to  climb  by.  Now 
and  then  appears  a  Mimosa  or  other  tree  hav- 
ing similar  fine  pinnate  foliage,  and  thick; 
masses  of  Inga  border  the  water,  from  whose 
branches  hang  long  bean-pods,  of  different 
shape  and  size,  according  to  the  species, 
some  of  them  a  yard  in  length.  Flowers 
there  are  very  few.  I  see,  now  and  then,  a 
gorgeous  crimson  blossom  on  long  spikes 
ornamenting  the  sombre  foliage  toward  the 
summits  of  the  forest.  I  suppose  it  to  be- 
long to  a  climber  of  the  Combretaceous  or- 
der. There  are  also  a  few  yellow  and  violet 
Trumpet-flowers  (Bignoniae).  The  blossoms  of 
the  Ingas,  although  not  conspicuous,  are  del- 
icately beautiful.  The  forest  all  along  offers 
so  dense  a  front  that  one  never  obtains  a 
glimpse  into  the  interior  of  the  wilderness." 
The  length  of  the  Jaburu  channel  is  about 
35  miles,  allowing  for  the  numerous  abrupt 
bends  which  occur  between  the  middle  and 
the  northern  end  of  its  course.  We  were 
three  days  and  a  half  accomplishing  the  pas- 
sage. The  banks  on  each  side  seemed  to  be 
composed  of  hard  river-mud,  with  a  thick 
Covering  of  vegetable  mould,  so  that  I  should 
imagine  this  whole  district  originated  in  a 
gradual  accumulation  of  alluvium,  through 
which  the  endless  labyrinths  of  channels 
have  worked  their  deep  and  narrow  beds. 
The  flood-tide,  as  we  travelled  northward,  be- 
came gradually  of  less  assistance  to  us,  as  it 
caused  only  a  feeble  current  upward.  The 
pressuie  of  the  waters  from  the  Amazons 
here  makes  itself  foH.  As  this  is  not  the  case 


lower  down,  I  suppose  the  currents  are  di- 
verted through  some  of  the  numerous  chan- 
nels which  we  passed  on  our  right,  and  which 
traverse,  in  their  course,  toward  the  sea,  the 
north-western  part  of  Maiaj6.  In  the  even- 
ing of  the  29th  we  arrived  at  a  point  where 
another  channel  joins  the  Jaburii  from  the 
.north-east.  Up  this  the  tide  was  flowing  ; 
we  turned  westward,  and  thus  met  the  flood 
coming  from  the  Amazons.  This  point  is 
the  object  of  a  strange  superstitious  observ- 
ance on  the  pait  of  the  canoe-men.  It  is  said 
to  be  haunted  by  a  Paje,  or  Indian  wizard, 
whom  it  is  necessary  to  propitiate,  by  depos- 
iting some  article  on  the  spot,  if  the  voyager 
wishes  to  secure  a  safe  return  from  the 
"  sertao,"  as  the  interior  of  the  country  is 
called.  The  trees  were  all  hung  with  rags, 
shirts,  straw  hats,  bunches  of  fruit,  and  so 
forth.  Although  the  superstition  doubtless 
originated  with  the  aborigines,  yet  I  ob- 
served, in  both  my  voyages,  that  it  was  only 
the  Portuguese  and  uneducated  Brazilians 
•who  deposited  anything.  The  pure  Indians 
gave  nothing,  and  treated  the  whole  affair  as 
a  humbug ;  but  they  were  all  civilized 
Tapuyos. 

On  the  30th,  at  nine  P.M.,  we  reached  a 
broad  channel  called  Macaco,  and  now  left 
the  dark,  echoing  Jaburii.  The  Macaco 
sends  off  branches  tow.ard  the  north- west 
coast  of  Marajo.  It  is  merely  a  passage 
among  a  cluster  of  islands,  between  which  a 
glimpse  is  occasionally  obtained  of  the  broad 
waters  of  the  main  Amazons.  A  brisk  wind 
carried  us  rapidly  past  its  monotonous 
scenery,  and  early  in  the  morning  of  the  1st 
of  October  we  reached  the  entrance  of  the 
Uituquara,  or  the  Wind-hole,  which  is  15 
miles  distant  from  the  end  of  the  Jaburu, 
This  is  also  a  winding  channel,  35  miles  in 
length,  threading  a  group  of  islands,  but  it  is 
much  narrower  than  the  Macaco. 

On  emerging  from  the  Uituquara  on  the 
2d,  we  all  went  ashore — the  men  to  fish  in  a 
small  creek,  JoaO  da  Cunha  and  I  to  shoot 
birds.  We  saw  a  flock  of  scarlet  and  blue 
macaws  (Macrocercus  macao)  feeding  on  the 
fruits  of  a  bacaba  palm,  and  looking  like  a 
cluster  of  flaunting  banners  beneath  its  dark- 
green  crown.  We  landed  about  fifty  yards 
from  the  place,  and  crept  cautiously  through 
the  forest,  but  before  we  reached  them  they 
flew  off  with  loud  harsh  screams.  At  a  wild- 
fruit  tree  we  were  more  successful,  as  my 
companion  shot  an  anaca  (derotypus  corona- 
tus),  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  parrot 
family.  It  is  of  a  green  color,  and  has  a 
hood  of  feathers,  red  bordered  with  blue,  at 
the  back  of  its  head,  which  it  can  elevate  or 
depress  at  pleasure.  The  anaca  is  the  only 
new-world  parrot  which  nearly  resembles  the 
cockatoo  of  Australia.  It  is  found  in  all  the 
lowlands  throughout  the  Amazons  region, 
but  is  not  a  common  bird  anywhere.  Few 
persona  succeed  in  taming  it,  and  I  never  saw 
one  that  had  been  taught  to  speak.  The  na- 
tives are  very  fond  of  the  bird  nevertheless, 
and  keep  it  in  their  houses  for  the  sake  of 
seeing  the  irascible  creature  expand  its  beau- 
tiful frill  of  feathers,  which  it  readily  does 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE   UIVER  AMAZONS. 


669 


when  excited.  The  men  returned  with  a 
large  quantity  of  fish.  I  was  surprised  at  the 
great  variety  of  species  ;  the  prevailing  kind 
was  a  species  of  Loricaria,  a  foot  in  length, 
and  wholly  encased  iu  bony  armor.  It 
abounds  at  certain  seasons  in  shallow  water. 
The  flesh  is  dry,  but  very  palatable.  They 
brought  also  a  small  alligator,  which  they 
called  Jacare  curua,  and  said  it  was  a  kind 
found  only  in  shallow  creeks.  It  was  not 
more  than  two  feet  in  length,  although  full- 
grown,  according  to  the  statement  of  the  In- 
dians, who  said  it  was  a  "  mai  d'ovos,"  or 
mother  of  egg^j,  as  they  had  pillaged  the 
nest,  which  they  had  found  near  the  edge  of 
the  water.  The  eggs  were  rather  larger  than 
a  hen's,  and  regularly  oval  in  shape,  present- 
ing a  rough  hard  surface  of  shell.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  al]igator  was  cut  up  ready  for 
cooking  when  we  returned  to  the  schooner, 
and  I  could  not  therefore  make  a  note  of  its 
peculiarities.  The  pieces  were  skewered  and 
roasted  over  the  fire,  each  man  being  his 
own  cook.  I  never  saw  this  species  of  alli- 
gator afterward. 

October  3d. — About  midnight  the  wind,  for 
which  we  had  long  been  waiting,  sprang  up, 
the  men  weighed  anchor,  arid  we  were  soon 
fairly  embarked  on  the  Amazons.  I  rose 
long  before  sunrise,  to  see  the  great  river  by 
moonlight.  There  was  a  spanking  breeze, 
and  the  vessel  was  bounding  gayly  over  the 
waters.  The  channel  along  which  we  were 
sailing  was  only  a  narrow  arm  of  the  river, 
about  two  miles  in  width  ;  the  total  breadth 
at  this  point  is  more  than  twenty  miles,  but 
the  stream  is  divided  into  three  parts  by  a 
series  of  large  islands.  The  river,  notwith- 
standing this  limitation  of  its  breadth,  had  a 
most  majestic  appearance.  It  did  not  pre- 
sent that  lake-like  aspect  which  the  waters  of 
the  Para  and  Tocantins  affect,  but  had  all 
the  swing,  so  to  spoak,  of  a  vast  flowing 
stream.  The  ochre-colorud  turbid  waters 
offered  also  a  great  contrast  to  the  rivers  be- 
longing to  the  Para  system.  The  channel 
formed  a  splendid  reach,  sweeping  from 
south-west  to  north-east,  with  a  horizon  of 
water  and  sky  both  up  stream  and  down. 
At  eleven  A.M  we  arrived  at  Gurupa,  a  small 
village  situated  on  a  rocky  bank  30  or  40  feet 
high.  Here  we  landed,  and  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  rambling  in  the  neighboring  woods, 
which  are  intersected  by  numerous  path- 
ways, carpeted  with  Lycopodia  growing  to  a 
height  of  8  or  10  inches,  and  enlivened  by 
numbers  of  glossy  blue  butterflies  of  the 
Theclidoe  or  hair-streak  family.  At  five 
P.M.  we  were  again  under  weigh.  Soon 
after  sunset,  as  we  were  crossing  the  mouth 
of  the  Xingu,  the  first  of  the  great  tributaries 
of  the  Amazons,  1200  miles  in  length,  a 
black  cloud  arose  suddenly  in  the  north-east. 
JoaO  da  Cunba  ordered  all  sails  to  be  taken 
in,  and  immediately  afterward  a  furious 
squall  burst  forth,  tearing  the  waters  into 
foam,  and  producing  a  frightful  uproar  m 
the  neighboring  forests.  A  drenching  rain 
followed,  but  in  half  an  hour  all  was  again 
calm,  and  the  full  moon  appeared  sailing  iu 


a  cloudless  sky. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Xingu  the  route 
followed  by  vessels  leads  straight  across  the 
river,  here  fen  miles  broad.  Toward  mid- 
night the  wind  failed  us,  wher  we  were  close 
to  a  large  shoal  called  the  Baixo  Grande.  We 
lay  here  becalmed  in  the  sickening  heat  for 
two  days,  and  whea  the  trade- wind  recom- 
menced with  the  rising  moon  at  ten  P.M.  on 
the  6th,  we  found  ourselves  on  a  lee-shore. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  our  pilot 
to  avoid  it,  we  ran  aground.  Fortunately, 
the  bottom  consisted  only  of  soft  mud,  sa 
that  by  casting  anchor  to  windward,  and 
hauling  iu  with  the  whole  strength  of  crew 
and  passengers,  we  got  off  after  spending  an 
uncomfortable  night.  We  rounded  the  point 
of  the  shoal  iu  two  fathoms  water  ;  the  head 
of  the  vessel  was  then  put  westward,  and  by 
sunrise  we  were  bounding  forward  before  a 
steady  breeze,  all  sail  set  and  everybody  in 
good  humor. 

The  weather  was  now  delightful  for  seve- 
ral days  in  succession,  the  air  transparently 
cfear,  and  the  breeze  cool  and  invigorating. 
At  daylight,  on  the  6th,  a  chain  of  blue  hills, 
the  Serra  de  Almeyrirn,  appeared  in  the  dis- 
tance, on  the  north  bank  of  the  river.     The 
sight  was  most  exhilarating  after  so  long  a 
sojourn  in  a  flat  country.     We  kept  to  the 
southern  shore,  passing  in  the  course  of  the 
day  the  mouths  of  the  Urucuricaya  and  the 
Aquiqui,  two  channels  which  communicate 
with  the  Xingu.     The  whole  of  this  southern 
coast  hence  to  near  Santarem,  a  distance  of 
130  miles,  is  lowland  and  quite  uninhabited. 
It  is  intersected  by  short  arms  or  back-waters 
of  the  Amazons,    which  are  called  in  the 
Tupi  language  Parana  mirims,  or  little  riv- 
ers.    By  keeping  to  these,  small  canoes  can 
travel  a  great  part  of  the  diatance  without 
being  much  exposed  to  the  heavy  seas  of  the 
main  river.      The  coast  throughout  has  a 
most  desolate  aspect ;  the  forest  is  not  so  va- 
ried as  on  the  higher  land,  and  the  water- 
frontage,  which    is  destitute  of  the  green 
mantle  of  climbing  plants  that  form  ec  rich 
a  decoration  in  other  parts,  is  encumbered  at 
every  step  with  piles  of  fallen  trees,  peopled 
by  white  egrets,  ghostly  storks,  and  solitary 
herons.     In  the  evening  we  passed  Almey- 
rim.     The  hills,  according  to  Von  Martius, 
who  landed  here,  are  about  800  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  river,  and  are  thickly  wooded 
to  the  summit.     They  commence  on  the  east 
by  a  few  low,  isolated,  and  rounded  eleva- 
tions ;  but  toward  the  west  of  the  village 
they  assume  the  appearance  of   elongated 
ridges,    which  seem  as    if  they  had   been 
planed  down  to  a  uniform  height  by  some  ex- 
ternal force.     The  next  day  we  passed  in  [ 
succession    a    series  of  similar    flat-topped 
hills,  some  isolated  and  of  a  truncated-pyra- 
midal shape,  others  prolonged  to  a  length  of 
several  miles.     There  is  an  interval  of  low 
country  between    these  and  the  Almeyrim 
range,  which  has  a  total  length  of  about  25 
miles  :  then  commences  abiuplly  the  Serra 
de  M-irauqua,  which  is  succeeded  in  a  simi- 
liir  way  by  tho  Vulha  Pobie  range,  the  Serras 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIYER  AMAZONS. 


de  Tapa  .ona-quara,  aud  Paraua*-quara.  All 
these  form  a  striking  contrast  to  the  Serra  de 
Aime^im.  ?n  being  quite  destitute  of  trees. 
They  *ave  steep  "rugged  sides,  apparently 
clothed  with  short  herbage,  but  here  and 
there  exposing  bare  white  patches.  Their 
total  length  is  about  40  miles.  In  the  rear, 
toward  the  interior,  they  are  succeeded  by 
other  ranges  of  hills,  communicating  with 
the  central  mountain-chain  of  Guiana,  which 
divides  Brazil  from  Caj'enne. 

As  we  sailed  along  the  southern  shore,  dur- 
ing the  6th  and  two  following  days,  the 
table-topped  hills  on  the  opposite  side  occu- 
pied most  of  our  attention.  The  river  is  from 
four  to  five  miles  broad,  and  in  some  places 
long,  low,  wooded  islands  intervene  in  mid- 
stream, whose  light  -  green  vivid  verdure 
formed  a  strangely  beautiful  foreground  to 
the  glorious  landsc  pe  of  broad  stream  and 
gray  mountain.  Ninety  miles  beyond 
Alme3Trim  stands  the  village  of  Monte  Alegre, 
which  is  built  uear  the  summit  of  the  last 
hill  visible  of  this  chain.  At  this  point  the 
river  bends  a  liltle  toward  the  south,  and  the 
hilly  country  recedes  from  its  shores  to  reap- 
pear at  Obydos,  greatly  decreased  in  height, 
about  a  hundred  miles  farther  west. 

We  crossed  the  river  three  times  between 
Monte  Alegra  and  the  next  town,  Santarem. 
In  the  middle  the  waves  ran  very  high,  and 
the  vessel  lurched  fearfully,  hurling  every- 
thing that  was  not  well  secured  from  one  side 
of  the  deck  to  the  other.  On  tha  morning  of 
the  9th  of  October,  a  gentle  wind  carried  us 
along  a  "  remanso,"  or  still  water,  under  the 
southern  shore.  These  tracts  of  quiet  water 
are  frequent  on  the  irregular  sides  of  the 
stream,  and  are  the  effect  of  counter  move- 
ments caused  by  the  rapid  current  of  its  cen- 
tral parts.  At  nine  A.M.  we  passed  the  mouth 
of  a  Parana-mirim,  called  Mahica,  and  then 
found  a  sudden  change  in  the  color  of  the 
water  and  aspect  of  the  banks.  Instead  of 
the  low  and  swampy  water-frontage  which 
had  prevailed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Xingu, 
we  saw  before  us  a  broad  sloping  beach  of 
white  sand.  The  forest,  instead  of  being  an 
entangled  mass  of  irregular  and  rank  vegeta 
tion  as  hitherto,  presented  a  rounded  outline, 
and  created  an  impression  of  repose  that  was 
very  pleasing.  We  now  approached,  in 
fact,  the  mouth  of  the  Tapajos,  whose  clear 
olive- green  waters  here  replaced  the  muddy 
current  against  which  we  had  so  long  been 
sailing.  Although  this  is  a  river  of  great  ex- 
tent— 1000  miles  in  length,  and.  for  the  last 
eighty  miles  of  its  course,  four  to  ten  in 
breadth — its  contribution  to  the  Amazons  ia 
not  perceptible  in  the  middle  of  the  stream. 
The  white  turbid  current  of  the  main  river 
flows  disdainfully  by,  occupying  nearly  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  channel,  while  the 
darker  water  of  its  tributary  seems  to  creep 
along  the  shore,  and  is  no  longer  distinguish- 
able four  or  five  miles  from  its  mouth. 

We  reached  Santarem  at  11  A.M.  The 
'iowns  has  a  clean  and  cheerful  appearance 
from  the  river.  It  consists  of  three  long 
streets,  with  a  few  sbo  It  •  jr  es  crossing  them 


at  right  angles,  and  contains  about  4500  in- 
habitants. It  lies  just  within  the  mouth  of 
the  Tapajos,  and  is  divided  into  two  parts, 
the  town  and  the  aldeia  or  village.  The 
houses  of  the  white  and  trading  classes  are 
substantially  built,  many  being  of  two  and 
three  stories,  and  all  whitewashed  and  tiled. 
The  aldeia,  which  contains  the  Indian  por- 
tion of  the  population,  or  did  so  formerly, 
.  consists  mostly  of  mud  huts,  thatched  with 
I  palm-leaves.  The  situation  of  the  town  is 
,  very  beautiful.  The  land,  although  but 
slightly  elevated,  does  not  form,  strictly 
speaking,  a  portion  of  the  alluvial  river 
plains  of  the  Amazons,  but  is  rather  a  north- 
ern prolongation  of  the  Brazilian  continental 
land.  It  is  scantily  Wooded,  and  toward  the 
interior  consists  of  undulating  campos,  which 
are  connected  with  a  series  of  hills  extending 
southward  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  I 
subsequently  made  this  place  my  headquar- 
ters for  three  years.  An  account  of  its  neigh- 
borhood is  therefore  reserved  for  another 
chapter.  At  the  first  sight  of  Santarem,  one 
cannot  help  being  struck  with  the  advantages 
of  its  situation.  Although  four  hundred 
miles  from  the  sea,  it  is  accessible  to  vessels 
of  heavy  tonnage  coming  straight  from  the 
Atlantic.  The  river  has  only  two  slight 
bends  between  this  port  and  the  sea,  aud  for 
fi  ve  or  six  months  in  the  year  the  Amazon- 
ian trade-wind  blows  with  very  little  inter- 
ruption, so  that  sailing  ships  coming  from 
foreign  countries  could  reach  the  place  with 
little  difficulty.  We  ourselves  had  accom- 
plished two  hundred  miles,  or  about  half  the 
distance  from  the  sea,  in  an  ill-rigged  vessel, 
in  three  days  and  a  half.  Although  the  land 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  is  perhaps  ill 
adapted  for  agriculture,  an  immense  tract  of 
rich  soil,  with  forest  and  meadow  land,  lies 
on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river,  and  the 
Tapajos  leads  into  the  heart  of  the  mining 
provinces  of  interior  Brazil.  But  where  is 
the  population  to  come  from  to  develop  the 
resources  of  this  fine  country  ?  At  present 
the  district  within  a  radius  of  twenty -five 
miles  contains  barely  6500  inhabitants  ;  be- 
hind the  town,  toward  the  interior,  the  coun- 
try is  uninhabited,  and  jaguars  roam  nightly, 
at  least  in  the  rainy  season,  close  up  to  the 
ends  of  the  suburban  streets. 

From  information  obtained  here,  I  fixed 
upon  the  next  town,  Obydos,  as  the  best 
place  to  stay  at  a  few  weeks,  in  order  to  in- 
vestigate the  natural  productions  of  the  north 
side  of  the  Lower  Amazons.  We  started  at 
sunrise  on  the  10th,  and  being  still  favored 
by  wind  and  weather,  made  a  pleasant  pas- 
sage, reaching  Obydos,  which  is  nearly  fifty 
miles  distant  from  Santarem,  by  midnight. 
We  sailed  all  day  close  to  the  southern  shore, 
and  found  the  banks  here  and  there  dotted 
with  houses  of  settlers,  each  surrounded  by 
its  plantation  of  cacao,  which  is  the  staple 
product  of  the  district.  This  coast  has  an 
evil  reputation  for  storms  and  mosquitoes, 
but  we  fortunately  escaped  both.  It  was  re- 
markable that  we  had  been  troubled  by  mos- 
quitoes only  on  one  night,  and  then  to  a  small 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS 


671 


«egre  ,  dunng  the  whole  of  our  voyage. 

I  landed  at  Obydos  the  next  morning,  and 
then  bid  adieu  to  my  kind  friend  Joa6  da 
Cunha,  who,  after  landing  my  baggage,  got 
up  his  anchor  and  cootiuued  on  his  way. 
The  town  contains  about  1200  inhabitants, 
and  is  airily  situated  on  a  high  bluff,  ninety 
or  one  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
river.  The  coast  is  precipitous  for  two  or 
three  miles  hence  to  the  west.  The  cliffs 
consist  of  the  parti  colored  clay,  or  Taba- 
tinga,  which  occurs  so  frequently  through- 
out the  Amazons  region  ;  the  strong  current 
of  the  river  sets  full  against  them  in  the  sea- 
son of  high  water,  and  annually  carries  away 
large  portions.  The  clay  in  places  is  strati- 
fied alternately  pink  and  yellow,  the  pink 
beds  being  the  thickest,  and  of  much  harder 
texture  than  the  others.  When  I  descended 
the  river  in  1859,  a  German  Major  of  En- 
gineers,  in  the  employ  of  the  Government, 
told  me  that  he  had  found  calcareous  layers, 
thickly  studded  with  marine  shells  inter- 
stratined  with  the  clay.  On  the  top  of  the 
Tabatinga  lies  a  bed  of  sand,  in  some  places 
several  feet  thick,  and  the  whole  formation 
rests  on  strata  of  sandstone,  which  are  ex- 
posed only  when  the  river  reaches  its  lowest 
level.  Behind  the  town  rises  a  fine  rounded 
liill,  and  a  range  of  similar  elevations  extends 
six  miles  westward,  terminating  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Trombetus. a  large  river  flowing  through 
the  interior  of  Guiana.  Hills  and  lowlands 
alike  are  covered  with  a  sombre  rolling  for- 
-est.  The  river  here  is  contracted  to  a  breadth 
of  rather  less  than  a  mile  (1738  yards),  and 
the  entire  volume  of  its  waters,  the  collective 
product  of  a  score  of  mighty  streams,  is 
poured  through  the  strait  with  tremendous 
velocity.  It  must  be  remarked,  however, 
that  the  river  valley  itself  is  not  contracted 
to  this  breedth,  the  opposite  shore  not  being 
continental  land,  but  a  low  alluvial  tract, 
subject  to  inundation  more  or  less  in  the 
rainy  season.  Behind  it  lies  an  extensive 
lake,  called  the  Lago  Grande  da  Ville 
Franca,  which  communicates  with  the  Ama- 
zons both  above  and  below  Obydos,  and  has 
therefore  the  appearance  of  a  by -water  or  an 
old  channel  of  the  river.  This  lake  is  about 
thirty-five  miles  in  length,  and  from  four  to 
ten  in  width  ;  but  its  waters  are  of  little 
depth,  and  in  the  dry  season  its  dimensions 
are  much  lessened.  It  has  no  perceptible 
current,  and  does  not  therefore  now  divert 
any  portion  of  the  waters  of  the  Amazons 
from  their  main  course  past  Obydos, 

I  remained  at  Obydos  from  the  llth of  Oc- 
tober to  the  19th  of  November.  I  spent 
three  weeks  here,  also,  in  1859,  when  the 
place  was  much  changed,  through  the  influx 
of  Poituguese  immigrants  and  the  building 
of  a  fortress  on  the  top  of  the  blnff.  It  is 
one  of  the  pleasantest  towns  on  the  river. 
The  houses  are  all  roofed  with  tiles,  and  are 
mostly  of  substantial  architecture.  Most  of 
the  Obydos  townsfolk  are  owners  of  cacao 
plantations,  which  are  situated  on  the  low- 
lands in  the  vicinity.  Some  are  large  cattle 
proprietors,  and  possess  estates  of  many 


square  leagues'  extent  in  the  campos,  or  grass- 
land districts, -which  border  the  Lago  Grande 
and  other  simaa/  inland  lakes,  near  the  vik 
lages  of  Faro  un'1  Alemquer.  These  campos 
bear  a  crop  of  nutritious  grass  ;  but  in  cer- 
tain seasons,  when  the  rising  of  the  Amnzons 
exceeds  the  average,  they  are  apt  to  be  flood- 
ed, and  then  the  large  herds  of  half- wild  cat- 
tle suffer  great  mortality  from  drowning, 
hunger,  and  the  alligators.  Neither  in  cat- 
tle keeping  nor  cacao-growing  are  any  but 
the  laziest  and  most  primitive  methods  fol- 
lowed, and  the  consequence  is,  that  the  pro- 
prietors are  generally  poor. 

The  forest  at  Obydos  seemed  to  abound  in 
monkeys,  for  I  rarely  passed  a  day  without 
seeing  several.  I  noticed  four  species :  the 
Coaita  (Ateles  paniscus),  the  Chrysothrir 
sciureus,  the  Callithrix  torquatus,  and  our 
old  Para  friend,  Midas  ursuius.  The  Coaita1 
is  a  large  black  monkey,  covered  with  coarse 
fcair,  and  having  the  prominent  parts  of  the 
face  of  a  tawny  flesh-colored  hue.  It  is  the 
largesi  of  the  Amazonian  monkeys  in  stature, 
but  is  excelled  in  bulk  by  the  "  Barrigudo" 
(Lagothrii  Humboldtii)  of  the  Upper  Arna- 
zons.  It  occurs  throughout  the  lowlands  of 
the  Lower  and  Upper  Amazons  ;  but  does 
not  range  to  the  south  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  river  plains.  At  that  point  an  allied  sp.; 
cies,  the  white- whiskered  Coaita  (Ateles  mar- 
ginatus)  takes  its  place.  The  Coaitas  are 
called  by  zoologists  spider-monkeys,  on  ac- 
count of  the  length  and  slenderness  of  their 
body  and  limbs.  In  these  apes  the  tail,  as  a 
prehensible  organ,  reaches  its  highest  degree 
of  perfection  ;  and  on  this  account  it  would, 
perhaps,  be  correct  to  consider  the  Coait&s 
as  the  extreme  development  of  the  American 
type  of  apes.  As  fir  as  we  know,  from  liv- 
ing and  fossil  specie^,  tne  New  World  has 
progressed  no  fartlv  ^han  the  Coaita,  toward 
the  production  of  /ligher  form  of  the  Quad 
ruuianous  order.  The  tendency  of  nature 
here  has  been,  to  all  appearance,  simply  to 
perfect  those  organs  which  adapt  the  species 
more  and  more  completely  to  a  purely  arbo- 
real life  ;  and  no  nearer  approach  has  been 
made  toward  the  more  advanced  forms  of  an- 
thropoid apes,  which  are  the  products  of  the 
Old  World  solely.  The  flesh  of  this  monkey 
is  much  esteemed  by  the  natives  in  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  the  military  comman- 
dant at  Obydos,  Major  Gama,  every  week 
sent  a  negro  hunter  to  shoot  one  for  his 
table.  One  day  I  went  on  a  Coaita  hunt, 
borrowing  a  negro  slave  of  a  friend  to  show 
me  the  way.  When  in  the  deepest  part  of  a 
ravine,  we  heard  a  rustling  sound  in  the  trees 
overhead,  and  Manoel  soon  pointed  out  a 
Coaita  to  me.  There  was  something  human- 
like in  its  appearance,  as  the  lean,  dark 
shaggy  creature  moved  deliberately  among 
the  branches  at  a  great  height.  I  fired,  but 
unfortunately  only  wounded  it  in  the  belly. 
It  fell  with  a  crash,  headlong,  about  twenty 
or  thirty  feet,  and  then  caught  a  bough  with 
its  tail,  which  grasped  it  instantaneously,  so 
that  the  animal  remained  suspended  in  mid' 


672 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


air.  Before  I  could  reload  it  recovered  itself, 
and  mounted  nimbly  to  the  topmost  branches, 
out  of  the  reach  of  a  fowling-piece,  where 
we  could  perceive  the  poor  thing  apparently 
probing  the  wound  with  its  fingers.  Coaitas 
are  more  frequently  kept  in  a  tarne  state  than 
any  other  kind  of  monkey.  The  Indians  are 
very  fond  of  them  as  pets,  and  the  women 
often  suckle  them  when  young  at  their 
breasts.  They  become  attached  to  their  inas- 
ttrs,  and  will  sometimes  follow  them  on  the 
ground  to  considerable  distances.  I  once 
sa  v  a  most  ridiculously  tame  Coaita.  It  was 
an  old  female,  which  accompanied  its  owner, 
a  trader  on  the  river,  in  all  his  voyages.  By 
way  of  giving  me  a  specimen  of  its  intelli- 
gence and  feeling,  its  master  set  to  and  rated 
it  soundly,  calling  it  scamp,  heathen,  thief, 
and  so  forth,  all  through  the  copious  Portu- 
guese vocabulary  of  vituperation.  The  poor 
monkey,  quietly  seated  on  the  ground,  seemed 
to  be  in  sure  trouble  at  this  display  of  anger. 
It  began  by  looking  earnestly  at  him,  then  it 
whined,  and  lastly  rocked  its  body  to  and  fro 
with  emotion,  crying  pileously,  and  passing 
its  long  gaunt  arms  continually  over  its  fore- 
heat*,  for  this  was  its  habit  vrhen  excited, 
and  the  front  of  the  head  was  worn  quite 
bald  in  consequence.  At  length  its  master 
altered  his  tone.  "  It's  all  a  lie,  my  old 
woman  ;  you're  an  angel,  a  flower,  a  good 
affectionate  old  creature, ' '  and  so  forth.  Im- 
mediately the  poor  monkey  ceased  its  wail- 
ing, and  soon  after  came  over  to  where  the 
man  sat.  The  disposition  of  the  Coaita  is 
mild  in  the  extreme  ;  it  has  none  of  the  pain- 
ful, restless  vivacity  of  its  kindred,  the  Cebi, 
and  no  trace  of  the  surly,  untamable  temper 
of  its  still  nearer  relatives,  the  Mycetes,  or 
howling  monkeys.  It  is,  however,  an  arrant 
thief,  and  shows  considerable  cunning  in  pil- 
fering small  articles  of  clothing,  which  it  con- 
ceals in  its  sleeping- place.  The  natives  of 
the  Upper  Amazons  procure  the  Coaita, 
when  full  grown,  by  shooting  it  with  the 
blowpipe  and  poisoned  darts,  and  restoring 
life  by  putting  a  little  salt  (the  antidote  to 
the  Urarf  poison  with  which  the  darts  are 
tipped)  in  its  mouth.  The  animals  thus 
caught  become  tame  forthwith.  Two  fe- 
males were  once  kept  at  the  Jaidin  des 
Plantes  of  Paris,  and  Geoffroy  St.  Hilaire  re- 
lates of  them  that  they  rarely  quitted  each 
other,  remaining  most  part  of  the  time  in 
close  embrace,  folding  their  tails  round  one 
another's  bodies.  They  took  their  meals  to- 
gether ;  and  it  was  remarked  on  such  occa- 
sions, when  the  friendship  of  animals  is  put 
to  a  hard  test,  that  they  never  quarrelled  or 
disputed  the  possession  of  a  favorite  fruit 
with  each  other. 

The  neighborhood  of  Obydos  was  rich  also 
in  insects.  In  the  broad  alleys  of  the  forest 
a  magnificent  butterfly  of  the  genus  Morpho, 
six  to  eight  inches  in  expanse,  the  Morpho  He 
cuba,  was  seen  daily  gliding  along  at  a  height 
of  twenty  feet  or  more  from  the  ground. 
Among  the  lower  trees  and  bushes  numerous 
kinds  of  Heliconii,  a  group  of  buttei flies  pc  • 


culiar  to  tropical  America,  having  long  nar- 
row wings,  were  very  abundant.  The  pre- 
vailing ground  color^of  the  wings  of  thesfc, 
insects  is  a  deep  black,  and  on  this  arede- 
picted  spots  and  streaks  of  crimson,  white, 
and  bright  yellow,  in  different  patterns  ac» 
cording  to  the  species.  Their  elegant  shape, 
showy  colors,  and  slow,  sailing  mode  of 
flight,  make  them  very  attractive  objects,  and 
their  numbers  are  so  great  that  they  form 
quite  a  feature  in  the  physiognomy  of  the 
forest,  compensating  for  the  scarcity  of  flow* 
ers.  Next  to  the  Heliconii,  the  Cala* 
grammas  (C.  nstarte  and  C.  peristera)  were 
the  most  conspicuous.  These  have  a  very 
rapid  and  short  flight,  settling  frequently  and 
remaining  stationary  for  a  long  time  on  the 
trunks  of  trees.  The  colors  ^."  \\\e\r  wings 
are  vermilion  and  black,  the  sur!iice  having, 
a  rich  velvety  appearance.  The  genus  owes 
its  Greek  name  Calagramma  (signifying  "a. 
letter  beneath")  to  the  curious  markings  of 
the  underside  of  the  wings,  resembling  Ara- 
bic numerals.  The  species  and  varieties  aro 
of  almost  endless  diversity,  but  the  majority 
inhabit  the  hot  valleys  of  the  eastern  parts  of 
the  Andes.  Another  butterfly  nearly  alliel 
to  these,  Callithea  Leprieurii,  was  also  very 
abundant  here,  at  the  marshy  head  of  the 
pool  before  mentioned.  The  '.rings  are  of  a 
rich  dark-blue  color,  with  a  broad  border  of 
silver-green.  These  two  groups  of  Callilhea 
and  Catagramma  are  found  only  in  tropical 
America,  chiefly  near  the  equator,  and  are 
certainly  among  the  most  beautiful  produc 
lions  of  a  region  where  the  animals  and 
plants  seem  to  have  been  fashioned  in  na 
ture's  choicest  moulds.  A  great  variety  of 
other  beautiful  and  curious  insects  adorned 
these  pleasant  woods.  Others  were  seen 
only  in  the  sunshine  in  open  places.  As  the 
waters  retreated  from  the  beach,  vast  num- 
bers of  sulphur-yellow  and  orange  colored 
butterflies  congregated  on  the  moist  sand. 
The  greater  portion  of  them  belonged  to  the 
genus  Callidryas.  They  assembled  m  dense- 
ly-packed masses,  sometimes  two  or  three 
yards  in  circumference,  their  wings  all  held 
in  an  upright  position,  so  that  the  beach 
looked  as  though  variegated  with  beds  of 
crocuses.  These  Callidryades  seem  to  be 
migratory  insects,  and  have  large  powers  of 
dissemination.  During  the  last  two  days  of 
our  voyage  the  great  numbers  constantly 
passing  over  the  river  attracted  the  attention 
of  every  one  on  board.  They  all  crossed  in. 
one  direction,  namely,  from  north  to  south, 
and  the,  processions  were  uninterrupted  from  . 
an  early  hour  in  the  morning  until  sunset 
All  the  individuate  which  resort  to  the  mar- 
gins of  sandy  beaches  are  of  the  male  sex. 
The  females  are  much  more  rare,  and  are 
seen  only  on  the  borders  of  the  forest,  wan- 
dering  from  tree  to  tree,  and  depositing  their 
eggs  on  low  mimosas  which  grow  in  the  * 
shade.  The  migrating  hordes,  as  far  as  I . 
could  ascertain,  are  composed  only  of  males,  . 
and  on  this  account  I  be.ieve  their  wander- 
ings do  not  extend  very  far. 
A  strange  kind  of  wood-cricket  is  2ouud  io  * 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


'this  neighborhood,  the  males  of  which  pro 
•duce  a  very  loud  and  not  unmusical  noise  by 
rubbing  together    the  overlapping  edges  of 
their  wing-cases.     The   notes  are  certainly 
the  loudest  and    most  extraordinary  that  I 
•ever  heard  produced  by  an  orthopterous  in- 
sect.    The  natives  call  it  the  Tanana,  in  allu- 
sion to  its  music,  which  is  a  sharp,  resonant 
stridulajlion  resembling  the  syllables  ta-na-na, 
tu-na-na,    succeeding  each  other  with  little 
intermission.      It  seems  to   be  rare  in  the 
neighborhood.      When  the  natives  capture 
one,  they  keep  it  in  a  wicker-work  cage  for 
the  sake  of  liearing  it  sing.     A  friend  of 
mine  kept  one  six  days.     It  was  lively  only 
for  two  or  three,  and  then  its  loud  note  could 
be  heard  from  one  end  of  the  village  to  the 
other.     When  it  died,  he  gave  me  the  speci- 
men, the  only  one  I  was  able  to  procure.     It 
is  a  member  of  the  family  Locustidse,  a  group 
intermediate  between  the  Crickets  (Achetidae) 
and  the  Grasshoppers  (Acridiida3).    The  total 
length  of  the  body  is  two  inches  and  a  quar- 
ter ;  when  the  wings  are  closed,  the  insect 
has  an   inflated    vesicular    or    bladder-like 
shape,  owing  to  the  great  convexity  of  the 
thin,  but  firm,  parchmenty  wing-cases,  and 
the  color  is  wholly  pale  green.     The  instru- 
ment by   which  the  Tanana  produces    its 
music  is  curiously  contrived  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary nervures  of  the  wing-cases.     In  each 
wing-case  the  inner  edge,  near  its  origin,  has 
a  horny  expansion  or  lobe  ;  on  one  wing  (b) 
this  lobe  has  sharp  raised  margins  ;  on  the 
other  (a),  the  strong  nervure  which  traverses 
the  lobe  on  the  other  side  is  crossed  by  a 
number  of  fine  sharp  furrows  like  those  of  a 
file.     When  the  insect    rapidly    moves    its 
wings,  the  file  of  the  one  lobe  is    scraped 
sharply  across  the  horny  margin  of  the  other, 
"thus  producing  the  sounds,  the  parchmenty 
wing-cases  and  the  hollow  drum-like  space 
which  they  enclose  assisting  to  give  resonance 
"to  the  tones.    The  projecting  portions  of  both 
wing  cases  are  traversed  by  a  similar  strong 
nervure,  but  this  is  scored  like  a  file  only  in 
one  of  them,  in  the  other  remaining  perfectly 
smooth.      Other  species  of  the    family    to 
which    the    Tanana    belongs    have    similar 
striclulating  organs,  but  in  none  are  these  so 
highly  developed  as  in  this  insect ;  they  ex- 
ist  always  in  the  males  only,  the  other  sex 
having  the  edges  of  the  wing-cases  quite 
straight  and  simple.     The  mode  of  produc- 
ing the  sounds,  and  their  object,  have  been 
Investigated  by  several  authors  with  regard 
to  certain  European  species.     They  are  the 
call-notes  of  the  males.      In    the    common 
field-cricket  of  Europe,  the  male  has  been  ob- 
served to  place  itself,  in  the  evening,  at  the 
entrance  of  its  burrow,  and  stridulate  until  a 
female  approaches,   when  the    louder  notes 
are  succeeded  by  a  more  subdued  tone,  while 
the  successful  musician  caresses  with  his  an- 
tenna? the  mate  he  has  won.     Any  one  who, 
will  lake  the  trouble,  may  observe  a  similar 
proceeding  in  the   common    house-cricket. 
The  nature  and  object  of  this  insect  music 
are  more  uniform  than  the  structure  and  situ- 
ation of  the  instrument  by  which  it  is  pro- 


673 

duced.  This  differs  in  each  of  the  three 
allied  families  above  mentioned.  In  the 
crickets  the  wing-  cases  are  symmetrical ; 
both  have  straight  edges  and  sharply  scored 
nervures  adapted  to  produce  the  stridulation. 
A  distinct  portion  of  their  edges  is  not,  there- 
fore, set  apart  for  the  elaboration  of  a  s&und- 
produoing  instrument.  In  this  family  the 
wing-cases  lie  flat  on  the  back  of  the  insect, 
and  overlap  each  other  for  a  considerable 
portion  of  their  extent.  In  the  Locustidae 
the  same  members  have  a  sloping  position  on 
each  side  of  the  body,  and  do  not  overlap, 
except  to  a  small  extent  near  their  bases  ;  it 
is  out  of  this  small  portion  that  the  stridu- 
lating  organ  is  contrived.  Greater  resonance 
is  given  in  most  species  by  a  thin  transparent 
plate,  covered  by  a  membrane,  in  the  centre 
of  the  overlapping  lobes.  In  the  Grasshop- 
pers (Acridiidae)  the  wing-cases  meet  in  a 
straight  suture,  and  the  friction  of  portions 
of  their  edges  is  no  longer  possible.  But  na- 
ture exhibits  the  same  fertility  of  resource 
here  as  elsewhere  ;  and,  in  contriving  other 
methods  of  supplying  the  males  with  an  in* 
strument  for  the  production  of  call-notes,  in- 
dicates the  great  importance  which  she  at- 
taches  to  this  function.  The  music  in  the 
males  of  the  Acridiidae  is  produced  by  the 
scraping  of  the  long  hind  thighs  against  the 
horny  nervures  of  the  outer  edges  of  the 
wing-cases,  a  drum-shaped  organ  placed  in 
a  cavity  near  the  insertion  of  the  thighs  being 
adapted  to  give  resonance  to  the  tones. 

I  obtained  very  few  birds  at  Obydos. 
There  was  no  scarcity  of  birds,  but  they  were 
mostly  common  Cayenne  species.  In  early 
morning  the  woods  near  my  house  were  quite 
animated  with  their  songs— an  unusual  thin^r 
in  this  country.  I  heard  here  for  the  first 
time  the  pleasing  wild  notes  of  the  Carashue, 
a  species  of  wild  thrush,  probably  the  Mimus 
lividusof  ornithologists.  I  found  it  afterward 
to  be  a  common  bird  in  the  scattered  woods 
of  the  campo  district  near  Santarem.  It  is  a 
much  smaller  and  plainer-colored  bird  than 
our  thrush,  and  its  song  is  not  so  loud, 
varied,  or  so  long  sustained  ;  but  the  tp2C  is 
of  a  sweet  and  plaintive  quality,  which  har- 
monizes well  with  the  wild  and  silent  wood- 
lands, where  alone  it  is  heard,  in  the  morn- 
ings  and  evenings  of  sultry  tropical  days.  In 
course  of  time  the  song  of  this  humble  thrush 
stirred  up  pleasing  associations  in  my  mind, 
in  the  same  way  as  those  of  its  more  highly, 
endowed  congeners  formerly  did  at  home. 
There  are  several  allied  species  in  Brazil ;  in 
the  southern  provinces  they  are  called  Sa- 
biahs.  The  Brazilians  are  not  insensible  to 
the  charms  of  this  their  best  songster,  for  I 
often  heard  some  pretty  verses  in  praise  of 
the  Sabiah,  sung  by.  young  people  to  the  ac- 
companiment of  the  guitar.  I  found  several 
times  the  nest  of  the  Carashue,  which  is  built 
of  dried  grass  and  slender  twigs,  and  lined 
with  mud  ;  the  eggs  are  colored  and  spotted 
like  those  of  our  blackbird,  but  they  are  con- 
siderably smaller.  I  was  much  pleased  with 
a  brilliant  little  red  headed  rnannikin  which 
I  shot  .here  (Pipra  cornutaj.  There  were 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


three  males  seated  on  a  low  branch,  and  hop- 
ping slowly  backward  and  forward,  near  to 
one  another,  as  though  engaged  in  a  kind  of 
dance.  la  the  pleasant  airy  woods  surround- 
ing the  sandy  shores  of  the  pool  behind  the 
town,  the  yellow-bellied  Trogou  (T.  viridis) 
was  very  common.  Its  back  is  of  a  brilliant 
metallic  green  color,  and  the  breast  steel 
blue.  The  natives  call  it  the  Suruqua  do 
Ygapo,  or  Trogon  of  the  flooded  lands,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  various  red- breasted 
species,  which  are  named  Suruquas  da  terra 
firma.  I  often  saw  small  companies  of  half 
a  dozen  individuals,  quietly  seated  on  the 
lower  branches  of  trees.  They  remained 
almost  motionless  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a 
time,  simply  moving  their  heads,  on  the 
watch  for  passing  insects,  or,  as  seemed 
more  generally  to  be  the  case,  scanning  the 
neighboring  trees  for  fruit,  which  they  dart 
off  now  and  then,  at  long  intervals,  to  se- 
cure, returning  always  to  the  same  perch. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  LOWER  AMAZONS — OBYDOS  TO  MANAOS, 
OR  THE  BARKA  OF  THE  KIO  NEGRO. 

Departure  from  Obydos — River  Banks  and  By-chan- 
nels—Cacao  Planters— Daily  Life  on  Board  our  Ves- 
sel—Great Storm— Sand  Island  and  its^Bircls— HilJ 
1  of  Parenting — Negro  Trader  and  Mauhes  Indians-* 
Villa  Nova,  its  Inhabitants,  Forest,  and  Animal 
Productions— Cararaucfi— A  Rustic  Festival— Lake 
of  Cararauru— Motuca  Flies  — Scrpa— Christmas 
Holidays— Kiver  Madeira— A  Mamelnco  Farmer— 
Mura  Indians— Rio  Negro — Description  of  Barra — 
Descent  to  Para— Yellow  Fever. 

A  TRADER  of  Obydos,  named  Menna,  was 
hbout  proceeding  in  a  cuberta  laden  with 
merchandise  to  the  Rio  Negro,  intending  to 
stop  frequently  on  the  road,  so  I  bargained 
with  him  far  a  passage.  He  gave  up  a  part 
of  the  toldo,  or  fore-cabin  as  it  may  be  called, 
and  here  I  slung  my  hammock  and  arranged 
my  boxes,  so  as  to  be  able  to  work  as  we 
went  along.  The  stoppages  I  thought  would 
be  an  advantage,  as  'I  could  collect  in  the 
woods  while  he  traded,  and  thus  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  the  productions  of  many  places 
on  the  river  which,  in  a  direct  voyage,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  do.  I  provided  a 
stock  of  groceries  for  two  months'  consump- 
tion ;  and,  after  the  usual  amount  cf  unneces- 
sary fuss  and  delay  on  the  part  of  the  owner, 
we  started  on  the  19th  of  November.  Penna 
took  his  family  with  him  ;  this  comprised  a 
smart,  lively  mameluco  woman,  named, 
Catariua,  whom  we  called  Senhora  Katita. 
and  two  children.  The  crew  consisted  of 
three  men,  one  a  sturdy  Indian,  another  a 
Cafuzo,  godson  of  Penna,  and  the  third,  our 
best  hand,  a  steady,  good-natured  mulatto, 
named  Joaquim.  My  boy  Luco  was  to 
assist  in  rowing  and  so  forth.  Penna  was  a 
timid  middle-aged  man,  a  white  with  a  slight 
cross  Ot  Indian  ;  when  he  was  surly  and  ob- 
stinate, he  used  to  ask  me  to  excuse  him  on 
'account  of  the  Tapuyo  blood  in  his  veins. 
He  tried  to  make  me  as  comfortable  as  the 
circumstances  adjiitted,  and  provided  a  large 
stock  of  eatables  and  drinkables  ;  so  that  al- 
together the  voyage  promised  to  oe  a  [ 


ant  one. 

On  leaving  the  port  of  Obydos  we  crossed: 
over  to  the  right  bank,  and  sailed  with    a 
light  wind  all  day,  passing  numerous  houses, 
each  surrounded  by  its  grove  of  cacao  trees. 
On  the  20th  we  made  sbw  progress.     After 
passing  the  high  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  • 
Trombetits,  the  banks  were  low,  clayey,  or 
earthy  on  both  sides.      The  breadth'  of  the 
river  varies  hereabout  from  two  and  a  half  to 
three  miles,  but  neither  coast  is  the  true  terra 
firma.     On  the  northern  side  a  by -channel 
runs  for  a  long  distance  inland,  communicat- 
ing with  the  extensive  lake  of  Faro  ;  on  the 
south,    three  channels  lead   to  the   similar 
fresh  water  sea  of  Villa  Franca  ;  these  are 
in  part  arms  of  the  river,  so  that  the  land 
they  surround  consists,  properly  speaking,  of 
islands.     When  this  description  of  land  is..- 
not  formed  wholly  of  river  deposit,  as  some- 
times happens,  or  is  raised  above  the  level  of 
the  highest  floods,  it  is  called  Ygapo  alto,  and 
is  distinguished  by  the  naUves  from  the  true 
islands  of  mid-river,  as  well  as  from  the  terra, 
firma.     We  landed  at  one  of  the  cacao  plan- 
tations.    The  house  was  substantially  built  ,* 
the  walls  formed  of  strong   upright  posts,, 
lathed  across,  plastered  with  mud,  and  white- 
washed,   and  the  roof  tiled.      The  family 
were  mamelucos,  and  seemed  to  be  an  ave- 
rage sample  of  the  poorer  class  of  cacao-grow- 
ers.   All  were  loosely  dressed  and  barefooted 
A  broad  veranda  extended  along    one  sidb 
of  the  house,  the  floor  of  which  was  simply 
the  well-trodden  earth  :  and  here  hammocks 
were  slung  between  the  bare  upright  sup- 
ports, a  large  rush  mat  being  spread  on  the 
ground,  upoa  which  the  stout  matron-like 
mistress,  with  a  tame  parrot  perched  upon 
her  shoulder,  sat  sewing  with  two  pretty  lit- 
tle mulatto  girls.     The  master,  coolly  clad  in 
shirt  and  draweis,  the  former  loose  about  the 
neck,  lay  in  his  hammock  smoking  a  long,, 
gaudily-painted  wooden  pipe.     The  house- 
hold utensils,  earthenware  jars,  water-pots^ 
and  saucepans,  lay  at  one  end,  near  which 
was  a  wood  fire,  with  the  ever-ready  coffee* 
pot  simmering  on  the  top  of  a  clay  tripod. 
A  large  shed  stood  a  short  distance  off,  em- 
bowered in  a  grove  of  banana,  papaw,  and 
mango  trees  ;  and  under  it  were  the  ovens, 
troughs,  sieves,  and  all  other  apparatus  for 
the  preparation  of  mandioca.     The  cleared 
space  around  the  house  was  only  a  few  yaids 
in  extent ;  beyond  it  lay  the  cacao  planta- 
tions, which  stretched  on  each  side  parallel 
to  the  banks  of  the  river.     There  was  a  path 
through  the  forest  which  led  to  the  mandioca 
fields,   and  several  miles  beyond  to  other 
houses  on  the  banks  of  an  interior  channel. 
We  were  kindly  received,  as  is  always  the 
case  when  a  stranger  visits  these  out-of-the- 
way  habitations,  the  people  being  invariably 
civil  and  hospitable.     We  had  a  long  chat, 
took   coffee,    and   on   departing  one  of  the 
daughters  sent  a  basketful  of  oranges  for  our 
use  down  to  the  canoe. 

The  cost  of  a    cacao  plantation    in  the- 
,pbydos  district  is  after  the  rate  of  240  leis  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZON! 


sixpence  per  tree,  which  is  much  higher  than 
at  Cameta.  where  I  believe  the  yield  is  not  so 
great.  The  forest  here  is  cleared  before 
planting,  and  the  trees  were  grown  in  rows. 
The  smaller  cultivators  are  all  very  poor. 
Labor  is  scarce  ;  one  family  generally  man- 
ages its  own  small  plantation  of  10,000  to 
15,000  trees,  but  at  the  harvest  time  neigh- 
bors assist  each  other.  It  appeared  to  me  tc 
be  an  easy,  pleasant  life  ;  the  woik  is  all 
done  under  shade,  and  occupies  only  a  few 
weeks  in  the  year.  The  incorrigible  noncha- 
lance and  laziness  of  the  people  alone  pre- 
vent them  from  surrounding  themselves  with 
all  the  luxuries  of  a  tropical  country.  They 
might  plant  orchards  of  the  choicest  fruit- 
trees  around  their  houses,  grow  Indian  corn, 
and  rear  cattle  and  hogs,  as  intelligent  settlers 
from  Europe  would  certainly  do,  instead  of 
indolently  relying  solely  on'  the  produce  of 
their  small  plantations,  and  living  on  a 
meagre  diet  of  fish  and  farinha.  In  prepar- 
ing the  cacao  they  have  not  devised  any 
means  of  separating  the  seed  well  from  the 
pulp,  or  drying  it  in  a  systematic  way  ;  the 
consequence  is  that,  although  naturally  of 
good  quality,  it  moulds  before  reaching  the 
merchants'  stores,  and  does  not  fetch  more 
than  half  the  price  of  the  same  article  grown 
in  other  parts  of  tropical  America.  The 
Amazons  region  is  the  original  home  of  the 
principal  species  of  chocolate  tree,  the  Theo- 
broma  cacao  ;  and  it  grows  in  abundance  in 
the  forests  of  the  upper  river.  The  cultivat- 
ed crop  appears  to  be  a  precarious  one  ;  little 
or  no  car*,  however,  is  bestowed  on  the 
trees,  and  even  weeding  is  done  very  in- 
efficiently. The  plantations  are  generally 
old,  and  have  been  made  on  the  low  ground 
near  the  river,  which  renders  them  liable  to 
inundation  when  this  rises  a  few  inches  more 
than  the  average.  There  is  plenty  of  higher 
land  quil,e  suitable  to  the  tree,  but  it  is  un- 
cleared, and  the  want  of  labor  and  enterprise 
prevents  the  establishment  of  new  planta. 
tious. 

We  passed  the  last  houses  in  the  Oby- 
dos  district  on  the  20th,  aud  the  river 
scenery  then  resumed  its  usual  wild  and  sol- 
itary character,  which  the  scattered  human 
habitations  relieved,  although  m  a  small  de- 
gree. We  soon  fell  into  a  regular  mode  of 
life  on  board  par  little  ark.  Penua  would 
not  travel  by  night ;  indeed,  our  small  crew, 
wearied  by  the  day's  labor,  required  rest,  and 
we  very  rarely  had  wind  in  the  night.  We 
used  to  moor  the  vessel  to  a  tree,  giving  out 
plenty  of  cable,  so  as  to  sleep  at  a  distance 
from  the  banks  and  free  of  mosquitoes, 
which  although  swarming  in  the  forest,  rarely 
came  many  yards  out  into  the  river  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  The  strong  current,  at  a 
distance  of  thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the 
coast,  steadied  the  cuberta  head  to  stream, 
ftnd  kept  us  from  drifting  ashore.  We  all 
slept  in  the  open  air,  as  the  heat  of  the  cab- 
ins was  stifling  in  the  early  part  of  the  night. 
Penna,  Senhora  Katita,  and  I,  slung  out 
hammocks  in  triangle  between  the  mainmast 
and  two  stout  poles  fixed  in  the  ruised 


A  sheet  was  the  only  covering  required,  be- 
sides  our  regular  clothing  ;  for  the  decrease 
of  temperature  at  night  on  the  Amazons  k, 
never  so  great  as  to  be  felt  otherwise  than  fis 
a  delightful  coolness,  after  the  sweltering 
heat  of  the  afternoons.  We  used  to  rise 
when  the  first  gleam  of  dawn  showed  itself 
above  the  long  dark  line  of  forest.  Our 
clothes  and  hammocks  were  then  generally 
soaked  with  dew,  but  this  was  not  felt  to  be 
an  inconvenience.  The  Indian  Manoel  used 
to  revive  himself  by  a  plunge  in  the  river, 
under  the  bows  of  the  vessel.  It  is  the  habit 
of  all  Indians,  male  and  female,  to  bathe 
early  in  the  morning  ;  they  do  it  sometimes 
for  warmth's  sake,  the  temperature  of  the 
water  being  often  considerably  higher  than 
that  of  the  air.  Penna  and  I  lolled  in  our 
hammocks,  while  Katita  prepared  the  indis- 
pensable cup  of  strong  coffee,  which  she  did 
with  wonderful  celerity,  smoking  meanwhile1 
her  early  morning  pipe  of  tobacco.  Liberal 
owners  of  river  craft  allow  a  cup  of  coffee 
sweetened  with  molasses,  or  a  ration  of 
casha^a,  to  each  man  of  their  crews  ;  Penna. 
gave  them  coffee.  When  all  were  served, 
the  day's  work  began.  There  was  seldom, 
any  wind  at  this  early  hour  ;  so  if  there  wa»- 
still  water  along  the  shore  the  men  rowed,  if 
not,  there  was  no  way  of  progressing  but  by 
espia.  In  some  places  the  currents  ran  with 
great  force  close  to  the  banks,  especially 
where  these  receded  to  form  long  bays  or 
enseadas,  as  they  are  called,  and  then  we 
made  very  little  headway.  In  such  places 
the  banks  consist  of  loose  earth,  a  rich  crum- 
bly vegetable  mould,  supporting  a  growth  of 
most  luxuriant  forest,  of  which  the  currents 
almost  daily  carry  away  large  portions,  so 
that  the  stream  for  several  yards  out  is  in- 
cumbered  with  fallen  trees,  whose  branches 
quiver  in  the  current.  When  projecting 
points  of  land  were  encountered,  it  was  im- 
possible, with  our  weak  crew,  to  pull  the 
cuberta  against  the  whirling  torrents  which 
set  round  them  ;  and  in  such  cases  we  had 
to  cross  the  river,  drifting  often  with  the  cur- 
rent, a  mi  or  two  lower  down  on  the  oppo- 
site shore.  There  generally  sprung  up  a  light 
wind  as  tho  day  advanced,  and  then  we  look 
down  our  hammocks,  hoisted  all  sail,  anil 
bowled  away  merrily.  Penna  generalty  pre- 
ferred to  cook  the  dinner  ashore,  when  theie 
was  little  or  no  wind.  About  mid-day  on 
these  calm  dsys  we  used  to  look  out  for  a 
nice  shady  nook  in  the  forest,  with  cleared 
space  sufficient  to  make  a  tire  upon.  I  then, 
had  an  hour's  hunting  in  the  neighboring 
wilderness,  and  was  always  rewarded  by  the 
discovery  of  some  new  species.  During  the 
greater  part  of  our  voyage,  however,  we 
stopped  at  the  house  of  some  settler,  and 
made  our  fire  in  the  port.  Just  before  din- 
ner it  was  our  habit  to  take  a  bath  in  the 
river,  and  then,  according  to  the  universal 
custom  on  the  Amazons,  where  it  seems  to 
be  suitable  on  account  of  the  weak  fish  diet, 
we  each  took  half  a  teacupful  of  neat 
cashaqa,  the  "  abre"  or  "  opening,"  as  it  ia> 
called,  and  set  to  on  o»*  «iu-ss  of  saewec?" 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIYER  AMAZONS. 


pirarecfi,  beans,  and  bacon.  Once  or  twice 
=a  week  we  had  fowls  and  rice  ;  at  supper, 
safter  sunset,  we  often  had  fresh  fish  caught 
<by  our  men  in  the  evening.  The  mornings 
•were  cool  and  pleasant  until  toward  mw- 
<iay  ;  but  in  the  afternoons  the  heat  became 
almost  intolerable,  especially  in  gleamy, 
equally  weather,  such  as  generally  prevailed. 
We  then  crouched  in  the  shade  of  the  sails, 
or  went  dowuto  our  hammocks  in  the  cabin, 
^choosing  to  be  half  stifled  rather  rtian  expose 
•ourselves  on  deck  to  the  sickening  heat  of 
the  sun.  We  generally  ceased  travelling 
about  nine  o'clock,  fixing  upon  a  safe  spot 
Tvheiein  to  secure  the  vessel  for  the  night. 
The  cool  evening  hours  were  delicious ; 
flocks  of  whistling  ducks  (Anas  autumnalis), 
parrots,  and  hoarsely  -  screaming  macaws, 
pair  by  pair,  flew  ever  from  their  feeding  to 
their  resting  places,  as  the  glowing  sun 
plunged  abruptly  beneath  the  hoiizon.  The 
brief  evening  chorus  of  animals  then  began, 
1he  chief  performers  being  the  howling  mon- 
keys, whose  frightful  unearthly  roar  deepened 
the  feeling  of  solitude  which  crept  on  as 
darkness  closed  around  us.  Soon  after,  the 
fireflies  in  great  diversity  of  species  came 
forth  and  flitted  about  the  trees.  As  night 
advanced,  all  became  silent  in  the  forest, 
«ave  the  occasional  hooting  of  tree-froers,  or 
the  monotonous  chirping  of  wood-crickets 
•and  grasshoppers. 

We  made  hut  little  progress  on  the  20th 
and  two  following  days,  on  account  of  the 
unsteadiness  of  the  wind.  The  dry  season 
had  been  of  very  brief  duration  this  year  ;  it 
.generally  lasts  in  this  part  of  the  Amazons 
from  July  to  January,  with  a  short  interval 
•of  showery  wea^r  in  November.  The  river 
ought  to  sink  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet  below 
its  highest  point ;  this  year  it  had  declined 
only  about  twenty-five  feet,  and  the  Novem- 
fcer  rains  threatened  to  be  continuous.  The 
-drier  the  weather,  the  stronger  blows  the  east 
wind  ;  it  now  failed  us  altogether,  or  blew 
gently  for  a  few  hours  merely  in  the  after- 
noons. I  had  hitherto  seen  the  great  river 
only  in  its  sunniest  aspect  ;  I  was  now  about 
to  witness  what  it  could  furnish  in  the  way 
<of  storms. 

On  the  night  of  the  22d  the  moon  appeared 
with  a  misty  halo.  As  we  went  to  rest,  a 
fresh  watery  wind  was  blowing,  and  a  dark 
pile  of  clouds  gathering  up  river  in  a  di- 
rection  opposite  to  that  of  the  wind.  I 
thought  this  betokened  nothing  more  than  a 
heavy  rain,  which  would  send  us  all  in  a 
luirry  to  our  cabins.  The  men  moored  the 
vessel  to  a  tret?  alongside  a  hard  clayey  bank, 
aind  after  supper  all  were  soon  fast  asleep, 
scattered  about  the  raised  deck.  About 
•eleven  o'clock  I  was  awakened  by  a  horrible 
uproar,  as  a  hurricane  of  wind  suddenly 
swept  over  from  the  opposite  shore.  The 
•cuberta  was  hurled  with  force  against  the 
clayey  bank  ;  Penna  shouted  out,  as  he 
•started  to  his  legs,  that  a  trovoada  de  cima, 
or  a  squall  from  up  river,  was  upon  us.  We 
took  down  our  hammocks,  and  then  all 
hands  were  required  to  save  the  vessel  from 


being  dashed  to  pieces.  The  moon  set,  anil 
a  black  pall  of  "louds  spread  itself  over  the 
dark  forests  and  river  ;  a  frightful  crack  of 
thunder  now  bursts  over  our  heads,  and 
down  fell  the  drenching  rain.  Joaquim  leaped 
ashore  through  the  drowning  spray  with  a 
strong  pole,  and  tried  to  pass  the  cuberta 
round  a  small  projecting  point,  while  we  on 
deck  aided  in  keeping  her  off  and  lengthened 
the  cable.  We  succeeded  in  getting  free, 
and  the  stout- built  boat  fell  off  into  the  strong 
current  farther  away  from  the  shore, 
Joaquim  swinging  himself  dexterously 
iboard  by  the  bowsprit  as  it  passed  the  point. 
It  was  fortunate  for  us  that  we  happened  to 
be  on  a  sloping  clayey  bank,  where  there 
was  no  fear  of  falling  trees  ;  a  few  yards 
faitheron,  where  the  shore  was  perpendic- 
ular and  formed  of  crumbly  earth,  large  por- 
tions of  loose  soil,  with  all  their  superincum- 
bent mass  of  forest,  were  being  washed 
away  ;  the  uproar  thus  occasioned  adding  to 
the  horrors  of  the  storm. 

The  violence  of  the  wind  abated  in  the 
course  of  an  hour,  but  the  deluge  of  rain 
continued  until  about  three  oV-lock  in  the 
morning  ;  the  sky  being  lighted  up  by  al- 
most incessant  flashes  of  "pallid  lightning, 
and  the  thunder  pealing  from  side  to  side 
without  interruption.  Our  clothing,  ham- 
mocks, and  goods  were  thoroughly  soaked  by 
the  streams  of  water  which  trickled  through 
between  the  planks.  In  the  morning  all  was 
quiet ;  but  an  opaque,  leaden  mass  of  clouds 
overspread  the  sky,  throwing  a  gloom  over 
the  wild  landscape  that  had  a  most  dispirit- 
ing effect.  These  squalls  from  the  west  are 
always  expected  about  the  time  of  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  dry  season,  in  these  central 
parts  of  the  Lower  Amazons.  They  gener- 
ally take  place  about  the  beginning  of  Feb- 
ruary, so  that  this  year  they  had  commenced 
much  earlier  than  usual.  The  soil  and  cli- 
mate are  much  drier  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try than  in  the  region  lying  farther  to  the 
west,  where  the  denser  forests  and  more 
clayey,  humid  soil  produce  a  considerably 
cooler  atmosphere.  The  storms  may  be 
therefore  attributed  to  the  rush  of  cold  moist 
air  from  up  river,  when  the  regular  trade- 
wind  coming  from  the  sea  has  slackened  or 
ceased  to  blow. 

On  the  26th  we  arrived  at  a  large  sand- 
bank connected  with  an  island  in  mid-river, 
in  front  of  an  inlet  called  Maracauassu. 
Here  we  anchored  and  spent  half  a  day 
ashore.  Penua's  object  in  stopping  was  <>im 
ply  to  enjoy  a  ramble  on  the  sands  with  the 
children,  and  give  Senhora  Katita  au  oppor- 
tunity to  wash  the  linen.  The  sand-bank  was 
now  fast  going  under  water  with  the  rise  of 
the  river  ;  in  the  middle  of  the  dry  season  iu 
is  about  a  mile  long  and  half  a  mile  in  width. 
The  canoe-men  delight  in  these  open  spaces, 
which  are  a  great  relief  to  the  monotony  of 
the  forest  that  clothes  the  land  in  e very- 
other  part  of  the  river.  Farther  westward 
they  are  much  more  frequent,  and  of  larger 
extent.  They  lie  generally  at  the  upper  end 
oj  isluuda  ;  in  fact,  the  latter  originate  in  ac- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


err 


cretfons  of  vegetable  matter,  formed  by 
plants  and  trees  growing  oil  a  shoal.  The 
island  was  wooded  chiefly  with  the  trumpet- 
tree  (Cecropia  peltata),  which  has  a  hollow 
stem  and  smooth  pale  bark.  The  leaves  are 
similar  in  shape  to  those  of  the  horse-chest- 
nut, but  immensely  larger  ;  beneath  they 
are  white,  and  when  the  welcome  trade-wind 
blows  they  show  their  silvery  under  sides — a 
pleasant  signal  to  the  weary  canoe  traveller. 
The  mode  of  growth  of  this  tree  is  curious  : 
the  branches  are  emitted  at  nearly  right 
angles  with  the  stem,  the  branchlets  in  minor 
whorls  around  these,  and  so  forth,  the  leaves 
growing  at  their  extremities  ;  so  that  the 
total  appearance  is  that  of  a  huge  candela- 
brum. Cecropiae  of  different  species  are 
characteristic  of  Brazilian  forest  scenery  ; 
the  kind  of  which  I  am  speaking  grows  in 
great  numbers  everywhere  on  the  banks  of 
the  Amazons  where  the  land  is  low.  In  the 
same  places  the  curious  monguba-tree  (Bom- 
bax  ceiba)  is  also  plentiful ;  the  dark-green 
bark  of  its  huge  tapering  trunk,  scored  with 
gray,  forming  a  conspicuous  object.  The 
principal  palm-tree  on  the  lowlands  is  the 
Jauari  (Astryocaryum  Jauari),  whose  stem, 
surrounded  by  whorls  of  spines,  shoots  up  to 
a  great  height.  On  the  borders  of  the  island 
•were  large  tracts  of  arrow-grass  (Gynerium 
saccharoides),  which  bears  elegant  plumes  of 
feathers,  like  those  of  the  reed,  and  grows  to 
a  height  of  twenty  feet,  the  leaves  arranged 
in  a  fan-shaped  figure  near  the  middle  of  the 
stem.  I  was  surprised  to  find  on  the  higher 
parts  of  the  sand -bank  the  familiar  foliage  of 
a  willow  (Salix  Humboldtiaua).  It  is  a 
dwarf  species,  and  grows  in  patches  resem- 
bling beds  of  osiers ;  as  in  the  English  wil- 
lows, the  leaves  were  peopled  bysmall  chrys- 
omelideous  beetles.  In  wandering  about, 
many  features  reminded  me  of  the  sea-shore. 
Flocks  of  white  gulls  were  flying  overhead, 
uttering  their  well-known  cry,  and  sand- 
pipers coursed  along  the  edge  of  the  water. 
Here  and  there  lonely  wading-birds  were 
stalking  about ;  one  of  these,  the  Curicaca 
(Ibis  melanopis),  flew  up  with  a  low  cackling 
noise,  and  was  soon  joined  by  an  unicorn- 
bird  (Palamedea  cornuta),  which  I  startled 
up  from  amid  the  bushes,  whose  harsh 
screams,  resembling  the  bray  of  a  jackass, 
but  shriller,  disturbed  unpleasantly  the  soli- 
tude of  the  place.  Among  the  willow-bushes 
were  flocks  of  a  handsome  bird  belonging  to 
the  Icterida3  or  troupial  family,  adorned  with 
a  rich  plumage  of  black  and  saffron-yellow. 
I  spent  some  time  watching  an  assemblage  of 
a  species  of  bird  called  by  the  natives  Tam- 
buri-para,  on  the  cecropia-trees.  It  is  the 
Monasa  nigrifrons  of  ornithologists,  and  has 
a  plain  slrie-colored  plumage,  with  the  beak 
of  an  orange  hue.  It  belongs  to  the  family 
of  Barbets,  most  of  whose  members  are  re, 
markable  for  their  dull,inactive  temperament. 
Those  species  which  are  arranged  by  orni- 
thologists under  the  genus  Bucco  are  called 
by  the  Indians,  in  the  Tupi  language,  Tai- 
assu  uira,  or  pig- birds.  They  remain  seated 
sometimes  for  hours  together  on  low  branches 


in  f  he  shade,  and  are  stimulated  to  exertion 
only  when  attracted  by  passing  insects. 
This  flock  of  Tamburi-para  were  the  reverse 
of  dull ;  they  were  gamboling  and  chasing 
each  other  among  the  branches.  As  they 
sported  about,  each  emitted  a  few  short  tune- 
ful notes,  which  altogether  produced  a  ring- 
ing, musical  chorus  that  quite  surprised  me. 

On  the  27th  we  reached  an  elevated  wood- 
en promontory,  called  Parentins,  which  now 
forms  the  boundary  between  the  provinces  of 
Para  and  the  Amazons.  Here  we  met  a 
small  canoe  descending  to  Santarem.  The 
owner  was  a  free  negro  named  Lima,  who, 
with  his  wife,  was  going  down  the  river  to 
exchange  his  year's  crop  of  tobacco  for  Euro- 
pean merchandise.  The  long  shallow  canoe 
was  laden  nearly  to  the  water  level.  He  re- 
sided on  the  banks  of  the  Abacaxi,  a  river 
which  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Canoma, 
a  broad  interior  channel  which  extends  from 
the  river  Madeira  to  the  Parentins,  a  distance 
of  180  miles.  Penna  offered  him  advantage- 
ous terms,  so  a  bargain  was  struck,  and  the 
man  saved  his  long  journey.  The  negro 
seemed  a  frank,  straightforward  fellow;  he 
was  a  native  of  Pernambuco,  but  had  settled 
many  years  ago  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
He  had  with  him  a  little  Indian  girl  belong- 
ing to  the  Mauhes  tribe,  whose  native  seat  is 
the  district  of  country  lying  in  the  rear  of 
the  Canoma,  between  the  JVladeira  and  the 
Tapajos.  The  Mauhes  are  considered,  1 
think  with  truth,  to  be  a  branch  of  the  great 
Mundurucu  nation,  having  segregated  from 
them  at  a  remote  period,  and  by  long  isola- 
tion acquired  different  customs  and  a  totally 
different  language,  in  a  manner  which  seems 
to  have  been  general  with  the  Brazilian  abo- 
rigines. The  Mundurucus  seem  to  have  re- 
tained more  of  the  general  characteristics  of 
the  original  Tupi  stock  than  the  Mauhes. 
Senhor  Lima  told  me,  what  I  afterward 
found  to  be  correct,  that  there  were  scarcely 
two  words  alike  in  the  languages  of  the  two 
people,  although  there  are  words  closely 
allied  to  Tupi  in  both.  The  little  girl  had 
not  the  slightest  trace  of  the  savage  in  her 
appearance.  Her  features  were  finely  shaped, 
the  cheek-bones  not  at  all  prominent,  the  lips 
thin,  and  the  expression  of  her  countenance 
frank  and  smiling.  She  had  been  brought 
only  a  few  weeks  previously  from  a  remote 
settlement  of  her  tribe  on  the  banks  of  the 
Abacaxi,  and  did  not  yet  know  five  words  of 
Portuguese.  The  Indians,  as  a  general  rule, 
are  very  manageable  when  they  are  young, 
but  it  is  a  frequent  complaint  that  when  they 
reach  the  age  of  puberty  they  become  rest- 
less and  discontented.  The  rooted  impa- 
tience of  all  restraint  then  shows  itself,  and 
the  kindest  treatment  will  not  prevent  them 
running  away  from  their  masters  ;  they  do 
not  return  to  the  malocas  of  their  tribes,  but 
join  parties  who  go  out  to  collect  the  prod- 
uce of  the  forests  and  rivers,  and  lead  a 
wandering,  semi-savage  kind  of  life. 

We  remained  under  the  Serra  dos  Parentins 
all  night.  Early  the  next  morning  a  light 
.mist  hung  about  the  tree-tops,  and  the  forest. 


€78  THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 

jesounded  with  the  yelping  of  Whaiapu-sai  •  pair  of  the  Jaburu-moleque  (Mycteria  ameri- 
monkeys.  i  went  ashore  with  my  gun  and  cana),  a  powerful  bin!  of  the  stork  family, 
got  a  glimpse  of  the  fljck,  but  did  not  succeed  four  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  which  flew  uxi 
in  obtaining  a  specimen.  They  were  of  and  alarmed  the  rest,  so  that  I  got  only  one 
small  size  and  covered  with  long  fur  of  a  bird  out  of  the  tumultuous  flocks  which 
uniform  gray  color.  I  think  the  species  was  passed  over  our  heads.  Passing  toward  the 
the  Callithiix  donacophilus.  The  rock  com-  farther  end  of  the  pool,  I  saw,  resting  on  the 
posing  the  elevated  rklge  of  the  Parentius  is  surface  of  the  water,  a  number  of  large  round 
the  same  coarse  iron-cemented  conglomerate  leaves,  turned  up  at  their  edges  ;  they  be- 
which  I  have  often  spoken  of  as  occurring  longed Jo  the  Victoria  water-lily.  The  leaves 
mar  Para  and  in  seveial  other  places.  Many  were  just  beginning  to  expand  (December 
Joose  blocks  were  scattered  about.  The  for-  3d),  some  were  still  under  water,  and  the 
•est  was  extremely  varied,  and  inextricable  largest  of  those  which  had  reached  the  sur- 
coils  of  woody  climbers  stretched  from  trefc  face  measured  not  quite  three  feet  in  diame- 
to  tree.  Thongs  of  cacti  were  spread  over  ter.  We  found  a  montaria  with  a  paddle  in 
1  he  rocks  and  tree-trunks.  The  variety  of  it,  drawn  up  on  the  bank,  which  I  took  leaf e 
small,  beautifully-shaped  ferns,  lichens,  and  to  borrow  of  the  unknown  owner,  and  Luco 
boleti  made  the  place  quite  a  museum  of  paddled  me  among  the  noble  plants  to  search 
cryptogamic  plants.  I  found  here  two  ex-  f°r  flowers,  meeting,  however,  with  no  sue- 
quisite  species  of  Longicorn  beetles,  and  a  cess-  I  learned  afterward  that  the  plant  is 
large  kind  of  grasshopper  (Pterochroza),  common  in  nearly  all  the  lakes  of  this  neigh- 
whose  broad  fore- wings  resembled  the  leaf  borhood.  The  natives  call  it  the  furno  do 
of  a  plant,  providing  the  insect  with  a  per-  Piosoca,  or  oven  of  the  Jacana,  the  shape  of 
feet  disguise  when  they  were  closed  ;  while  the  leaves  being  like  that  of  the  ovens  on 
the  hind  wings  were  decorated  with  gayly-  which  mandioca-meal  is  roasted.  We  saw 
colored  eye-like  spots.  many  kinds  of  hawks  and  eagles,  one  of 

The  negro  left  us  and  turned  up  a  narrow  which,  a  black  species,  the  Caiacara-i  (Mil- 
•channel,  the  Parana-mirim  dos  Ramos  (the  vagonudicollis).  sat  on  the  top  of  a  tall  naked 
little  river  of  the  branches,  i.e.,  having  many  stump,  uttering  its  hypocritical  whining 
ramifications),  on  the  road  to  his  home,  130  n°tes.  This  eagle  is  considered  a  bird  of  ill 
Iniles  distant.  We  then  continued  our  voy-  omen  by  the  Indians  ;  it  often  perches  on  the 
^ige,  and  in  the  evening  arrived  at  Villa  toPs  °f  trees  in  the  neighborhood  of  their 
Nova,  a  straggling  village  containing  about  huts,  and  is  then  said  to  bring  a  warning  of 
seventy  houses,  many  of  which  scarcely  de-  d°ath  to  some  member  of  the  household, 
serve  the  name,  being  meie  mud-huts  roofed  Others  say  that  its  whining  cry  is  intended 
with  palm  leaves.  We  stayed  here  four  days,  to  attract  other  defenceless  birds  within  its 
The  village  is  built,  on  a  rocky  bank,  com-  reach.  The  little  courageous  flycatcher 
posed  of  the  same  coarse  conglomerate  as  Bem-ti-vi  (Saurophagus  sulphuratus)  assem- 
that  already  so  often  mentioned.  In  some  bles  in  companies  of  four  or  five,  and  attacks 
places  a  bed  of  Tabatinga  clay  rests  on  the  i*  boldly,  driving  it  from  the  perch  where  it 
conglomerate.  The  soil  in  the  neighboi hood  would  otherwise  sit  for  hours.  I  shot  three 
Is  sandy,  and  the  forest,  most  of  which  ap-  hawks  of  as  many  different  species  ;  and 
pears  to  be  of  second  growth,  is  traversed  by  these,  with  a  Magoary  stork,  two  beautiful 
broad  alleys  which  terminate  to  the  south  gilded-green  jacamars(Albulachalcocephala), 
and  east  on  the  banks  of  pools  and  lakes,  a  an(^  half  a  dozen  leaves  of  the  water-lily, 
chain  of  which  extends  through  the  interior  made  a  heavy  load,  with  which  we  trudged 
of  the  land.  As  soon  as  we  anchored  I  set  OJ^  back  to  the  canoe. 

off  with  Luco  to  explore  the  district.  We  A  few  years  after  this  visit,  namely,  in 
walked  about  a  mile  along  the  marly  shore,  1854-5,  I  passed  eight  months  at  Villa  Nova. 
€n  which  was  a  thick  carpet  of  flowering  The  district  of  which  it  is  the  chief  town  is 
shrubs,  enlivened  by  a  great  variety  of  lovely  very  extensive,  for  it  has  about  forty  miles 
little  butterflies,  and  then  entered  the  forest  °f  linear  extent  along  the  banks  of  the  river  ; 
Ijy  a  dry  water-course.  About  a  furlong  in-  but  the  whole  does  not  contain  more  than 
land  this  opened  on  a  broad  placid  pool,  4000  inhabitants.  More  than  half  of  these 
whose  banks,  clothed  with  grass  of  the  soft-  are  pure-blood  Indians,  who  live  in  a  senfi- 
est  green  hue,  sloped  gently  from  the  water's  civilized  condition  on  the  banks  of  the  nu- 
c-dge  to  the  compact  wall  of  forest  which  en-  merous  channels  and  lakes.  The  trade  of 
compassed  the  whole.  The  pool  swarmed  the  place  is  chiefly  in  india-rubber,  balsam  of 
with  water-fowl— snowy  egrets,  dark-colored  copaiba  (which  are  collected  on  the  banks  of 
striped  herons,  and  storks  of  various  species  the  Madeira  and  the  numerous  rivers  that  en- 
standing  in  rows  around  its  margins.  Small  ter  the  Canoma  channel),  and  salt  fish  pre- 
flocks  of  macaws  were  stirring  about  the  top-  pared  in  the  dry  season,  nearer  home.  These 
most  branches  of  the  trees.  Long-legged  articles  are  sent  to  Para  in  exchange  for 
piosocas  (Parra  Jaoana)  stalked  over  the  European  goods.  The  few  Indian  and  half- 
water-plants  on  the  surface  of  the  pool,  and  breed  families  who  reside  in  the  town  are 
in  the  bushes  on  its  margin  were  great  num-  many  shades  inferior  in  personal  qualities 
bers  of  a  kind  of  canary  (Sycalis  brasiliensLs)  and  social  condition  to  those  I  lived  among 
of  a  greenish -yellow  color,  which  has  a  short  near  Par*  and  Camera.  They  live  in 
and  not  very  melodious  song.  We  had  ad-  wretched  dilapidated  mud-hovels  ;  the  worn- 
vanced  but  a  few  steps  when  we  startled  ft.  eu  cultivate  small  patches  of  nutndioca  •  the 


THE  NATURALIST  ON     THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


jaen  spend  mos^  of  their  time  in  fishing,  sell- 
ing what  they  do  not  require  themselves,  and 
getting  drunk  with  the  most  exemplary  regu- 
ritv  on  cusha^a,  purchased  with  the  pro- 


I  made,  in  this  second  visit  to  Villa  Nova, 
Bn  extensive  collection  of  the  natural  pro- 
ductions of  the  neighborhood.  A  few  re- 
marks on  some  of  the  more  interesting  of 
these  must  suffice.  The  forests  are  very  dif- 
ferent in  their  general  character  from  those 
of  Para,  and  in  fact  those  of  humid  districts 
generally  throughout  the  Amazons.  The 
same  scarcity  of  large-leaved  Musaceous  and 
Marantaceous  plants  was.  noticeable  here  as 
at  Obydos.  The  low-lying  areas  of  forest  or 
Ygap6s,  which  alternate  everywhere  with 
the  more  elevated  districts,  did  not  furnish 
the  same  luxuriant  vegetation  as  they  do  in 
the  Delta  region  of  the  Amazons.  They  are 
flooded  during  three  or  four  months  in  the 
year,  and  when  the  waters  retire,  the  soil — to 
which  the  very  thin  coating  of  alluvial  de- 
posit imparts  little  fertility — remains  bare,  or 
covered  with  a  matted  bed  of  dead  leaves, 
until  the  next  flood  season.  These  tracts 
have  then  a  barren  appearance  ;  the  trunks 
and  lower  branches  of  the  trees  are  coated 
with  dried  slime,  and  disfigured  by  rounded 
masses  of  fresh-water  sponges,  whose  long 
horny  spicula3  and  dingy  colors  give  them 
the  appearance  of  hedgehogs.  Dense  bushes 
of  a  harsh,  cutting  grass,  called  Tiririca, 
form  almost  the  only  fresh  vegetation  in  thu 
dry  season.  Perhaps  the  dense  shade,  the 
long  period  during  which  the  land  remains 
under  water,  and  the  excessively  rapid  desic- 
cation when  the  waters  retire,  all  contribute 
to  the  barrenness  of  these  Ygap6s.  The 
higher  and  drier  land  is  everywhere  sandy, 
and  tall  coarse  grasses  line  the  borders  of  the 
broad  alleys  which  have  been  cut  through 
the  second-growth  woods.  These  places 
swarm  with  carapatos,  ugly  ticks  belonging 
to  the  genus  Ixodes,  which  mount  to  the  tips 
of  blades  of  grass,  and  attach  themselves 
to  the  clothes  of  passers-by.  They  are  a 
.tn-eat  annoyance.  It  occupied  me  a  full  Hour 
daily  to  pick  them  off  my  flesh  after  my  diur- 
nal ramble.  There  are  two  species  ;  both 
are  much  flattened  in  shape,  have  four  pairs 
of  legs,  a  thick,  short  proboscis,  and  a  horny 
integument.  Their  habit  is  to  attach  them- 
selves to  the  skin  by  plunging  their  probos- 
cides  into  it,  and  then  suck  the  blood  until 
their  flat  bodies  are  distended  into  a  globular 
form.  The  whole  proceeding,  however,  is 
very  slow,  and  it  takes  them  several  days  to 
pump  their  fill.  No  pain  or  itching  is  felt, 
but  serious  sores  are  caused  if  care  is  not 
taken  in  removing  them,  as  the  proboscis  is 
liable  o  break  off  and  remain  in  the  wound. 
A  little  tobacco- juice  is  generally  applied  to 
make  them  loosen  their  hold.  They  do  not 
cling  firmly  to  the  skin  by  their  legs,  although 
each  of  these  has  a  pair  of  sharp  and  fine 
claws,  connected  with  the  tips  of  the  mem- 
ber by  means  of  a  flexible  pedicle.  When 
they  mount  to  the  summits  of  slender  blades 
of  grass,  or  the  tips  of  leaves,  thei'  iiold  utt. 


by  their  fore-legs  only,  the  other  three  paira 
bein»  stretched  out  so  as  to  fasten  on  any 
animal  which  comes  in  their  way.  The 
smaller  of  the  two  species  is  of  a  yellowish 
color  ;  it  is  much  the  most  abundant,  and 
sometimes  falls  upon  one  by  scores.  When 
distended,  it  is  about  the  size  of  a  No.  8- 
shot;  the  larger  kind,  which  fortunately 
comes  only  singly  to  the  work,  swells  to  the- 
size  of  a  pea. 

In  some  parts  of  the  interior  the  soil   is 
composed  of  very  coarse  sand  and  small  frag 


or  campos,  as  they  are  called,  situated  five; 
miles  from  the  village.  The  road  thither  led. 
through  a  varied  and  beautiful  forest,  con- 
taining manv  gigantic  trees.  I  missed  the 
Assai,  Miriti,  Paxiuba,  and  other  paluia- 
which  are  all  found  only  on  rich  moist  soils, 
but  the  noble  Bacaba  was  not  uncommon, 
and  there  was  a  great  diversity  of  dwarf  spe- 
cies of  Maraja  palms  (Bactris),  one  of  which, 
called  the  Peuririma,  was  very  elegant, 
growing  to  a  height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,, 
with  astern  no  thicker  than  a  man's  finger.. 
On  arriving  at  the  campo,  all  this  beautiful 
forest  abruptly  ceased,  and  we  saw  before  us. 
an  oval  tract  of  land,  three  or  four  miles  in* 
circumf ei  ence,  destitute  even  of  the  smallest 
bush.  The  only  vegetation  was  a  crop  of' 
coarse  hairy  grass  growing  in  patches.  The- 
forest  formed  a  hedge  all  round  the  isolated, 
field,  and  its  borders  were  composed  in  great 
part  of  trees  which  do  not  grow  in  the  denser 
virgin  forest,  such  as  a  great  variety  of  bushy 
Melastomas,  low  Byrsomimt  trees,  myrtles, 
and  Lacre  trees,  whose  berries  exude  globules, 
of  wax  resembling  gamboge.  On  the  mar- 
gins of  the  campo  wild  pineapples  also  gre^vr 
in  great  quantity.  The  fruit  was  of  the  same.- 
shape  as  out  cultivated  kind,  but  much., 
smaller,  the  size  being  that  of  a  moderately 
large  apple.  We  gathered  several  quite  ripe  ;. 
they  were  pleasant  to  the  taste,  of  the  true 
pineapple  flavor,  but  had  an  abundance  of 
fully  developed  seeds,  and  only  a  small  quan- 
tity of  eatable  pulp.  There  was  no  path  be- 
yond this  campo  ;  in  fact,  all  beyond  is  terra, 
incognita  to  the  inhabitants  of  Villa  Nova. 

The   only  interesting  mammalian    animal: 
which  I  saw  at  Villa  Nova  was  a  monkey  or 
a  species  new  to  me  :  it  was  not,  however,  a. 
native  of  the  district,  having  been  brought' 
by  a  trader  from  the  river  Madeira,  a.  few 
miles  above  Borba.     It  was  a  howler,  proba 
bly  the  Mycetes  stramineus  of  Geoff roy  Bt 
Hilaire.     The  howlers  are  the  only  kinds  o*, 
monkey  which  the  natives  have  uot  succeed- 

'  ed  in  taming.  They  are  often  caught,  but- 
they  do  not  survive  captivity  many  weeks. 
The  one  of  which  I  am  speaking  was  not- 
quite  full  grown.  It  measured  sixteen  inches* 
in  length,  exclusive  of  the  tail  ;  the  whole,- 
body  was  covered  with  rather  long  and  shin- 
ing dingy-white  hair,  the  whiskers  and  beard 
only  being  of  a  tawny  hue.  It  was  kept  in  a- 
house,  together  with  a  Coaita  and  a  Caiarara, 

-  immkey  (Cubus  ulbifrons).     Both  these  li 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZON. 


^members  of  the  monkey  order  seemed  rather 
to  court  attention,  but  the  Mycetes  slunk 

;  nway  vhen  any  one  approached  it.  When 
it  fiTst  arrived,  it  occasionally  made  a  gruff 
subdued  howling  noise  early  in  the  morning. 
The  di'i-p  volume  of  sound  in  the  voice  of  the 

.howling  rr.oiikeys,  as  is  well  known,  is  pro- 

duced 'by  a  di  urn-shaped  expansion  of  the 
larynx.  It  was  curious  to  watch  the  animal 
while  venting  its  hollow  cavernous  roar,  and 
observe  how  small  was  the  muscular  exertion 
?mpl  jyt'd.  When  howlers  are  seen  in  the 
ioiest,  there  are  generally  three  or  four  of 
them  mounted  on  the  topmost  branches  of  a 
tree.  It  does  not  appear  that  their  harrow- 
ing roar  is  emitted  from  sudden  alarm;  at 

!  least,  it  was  not  so  in  captive  individuals. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  noise  serves 
to  intimidate  their  enemies.  I  did  not  meet 
with  the  Mycetes  stramineus  in  any  other 
part  of  the  Amazons  region  ;  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Para  a  reddish-colored  species 
prevails  (M.  Belzebuth)  ;  in  the  narrow  chan- 
nels near  Breves  I  shot  a  large,  entirely  black 
kind  ;  another  yellow-handed  species,  accoid- 
ing  to  the  report  of  the  natives,  inhabits  the 
island  of  Macajo,  which  is  probably  the  M. 
fl  ivimanus  of  Kuhl  ;  some  distance  up  the 

'  Tapajos  the  only  howler  found  is  a  brownish 
-black  species;  and  on  the  Upper  Amazons 
the  S3le  species  seen  was  the  Mycetes  ursinus, 
whose  fur  is  of  a  shining  yellowish-red  color. 
In  the  dry  forests  of  Villa  Nova  I  saw  a 
rattlesnake  for  the  first  time.  I  was  return- 
ing home  one  day  through  a  narrow  alley, 
when  I  heard  a  pattering  noise  close  to  me. 

.Hard  by  was  a  talm  palm-tree,  whose  head 
was  heavily  weighted  with  parasitic  plants, 

;  and  I  thought  the  noise  was  a  warn  in?  that 
it  was  about  to  fall.  The  wind  lulled  for  a 
few  moments,  and  then  there  was  no  doubt 
that  the  noise  proceeded  from  the  ground. 
On  turning  my  head  in  that  direction,  a  sud- 

•  den  plunge  startled  me,  and  a  heavy  gliding 
motion  betrayed  a  large  serpent  making  off 

Almost  from  beneath  my  feet.  The  ground 
is  always  so  incumbered  with  rotting  leaves 
find  branches  that  one  only  discovers  snakes 
when  they  are  in  the  act  of  moving  away. 

^         icsidentsof  Villa  Nova  would  not  believe 


that  I  had  seen  a  rattlesnake  in  their  neigli- 
boihood  ;  in  fact,  it  is  not  known  to  occur  in 
the  forests  at  all,  its  place  being  the  open 
-C!»mpos,  where,  near  Santa  rem,  I  killed  sever- 
~nl.     On  my  second  visit  to  Villa  Nova  1  saw 
•  nnother.     I  had  then  a  favorite  little  dog, 
named   Diamante,  who  used  to   accompany 
me  in  my  iambics.     One  day  he  rushed  into 
the  thicket,  and  made  a  dead  set  at  a  large 
snake,  whose  head  I  saw  raised  above  the 
hei  bagc.     The  foolish  little  brute  approached 
quite  cluse.  and  then  the  serpent  reared  its 
tail    slightly  in    a    horizontal    position  and 
-shook    its    terrible    rattle.       it    was    many 
minutes  before  I  could  get  the  dog  away  ; 
and  this  incident,  as  well  as  the  one  already 
related,   shows  how   slow   the  reptile  is  to 
make  the  fatal  spring. 

I  was  much  annoyed,  and  at  the  same  time 
aamused,  with  the  Urubu  vultures.     The  Por- 


tuguese call  them  coryos  or  crow*-  •  In  cdlor 
and  general  appearance  they  somewhat  re- 
semble rooks,  but  they  are  much  larger,  and 
have  naked,  black,  wrinkled  skin  about  their 
face  and  throat.  They  assemble  in  great 
numbers  in  the  villages  about  the  end  of  the 
wet  season,  and  are  then  ravenous  with  hun- 
ger. My  cook  could  not  leave  the  open 
kitchen  at  the  back  of  the  house  for  a  mo- 
ment,  while  the  dinner  was  cooking,  on  ac 
count  of  their  thievish  propensities.  Some 
of  them  were  always  loitering  about,  watch 
ing  their  opportunity,  and  the  instant  the 
kitchen  was  left  unguaided  the  bold  ma- 
rauders marched  in  and  lifted  the  lids  of  thti 
saucepans  with  their  beaks  to  rob  them  of 
their  contents.  The  boys  of  the  village  lie 
in  wait  and  shoot  them  with  bow  and  arrow  ; 
and  vultures  have  consequently  acquired  such 
a  dread  of  these  weapons  that  they  may  be 
often  kept  off  by  hanging  a  bow  from  the 
rafters  of  the  kitchen.  As  the  dry  season 
advances  the  hosts  of  Urubus  follow  the 
fishermen  to  the  lakes,  where  they  gorge 
themselves  with  the  offal  of  the  fisheries. 
Toward  February  they  return  to  the  villages, 
and  Mre  then  not  nearly  so  ravenons  as  before 
their  summer  trips. 

The  insects  of  Villa  Nova  are,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  same  as  those  of  Santarem  and  the 
Tiipajos.  A  few  species  o"  all  orderg,  how- 
ever, are  found  here,  which  occurred  no. 
where  else  on  the  Amazons,  besides  several 
others  which  are  propeily  considered  local 
varieties  or  races  of  others  found  at  Para,  on 
the  northern  shore  of  the  Amazons,  or  in 
other  parts  of  tropical  America.  The 
Hymenoptera  were  especially  numerous,  as 
they  always  are  in  districts  which  possess  a 
sandy  soil  ;  but  the  many  interesting  facts 
Which  1  gleaned  relative  to  their  habits  will 
be  more  conveniently  introduced  when  I  treat 
of  the  same  or  similar  species  found  in  the 
localities  above  named.  In  the  broad  alleys 
of  the  forest  several  species  of  Morpho  were 
common.  One  of  these  is  a  sister  form  to 
the  Morpho  Hecuba,  which  I  have  mentioned 
as  occurring  at  Obydos.  The  Villa  Nova 
kind  differs  from  Hecuba  sufficiently  to  be 
considered  a  distinct  species,  and  has  been 
described  under  the  name  of  M.  Cisseis  ;  but 
it  is  clearly  only  a  local  variety  of  it,  the 
range  of  the  two  being  limited  by  the  barrier 
of  the  broad  Amazons.  It  is  a  grand  sight 
to  see  these  colossal  butterflies  by  twos  and 
threes  floating  at  a  great  height  in  the  still 
air  of  a  tropical  morning.  They  flap  their 
wings  only  at  long  intervals,  for  I  have  no- 
ticed them  to  sail  a  very  considerable  distanoe 
Without  a  stroke.  Their  wing-muscles,  and 
the  thorax  to  which  tlM?.y  are  attached,  are 
very  feeble  in  camys.riiJaa  with  the  wide  ex- 
tent and  weight  of  the  wings  ;  but  the  huge 
expanse  of  these  members  doubtless  assists 
the  insects  in  maintaining  their  aerial  course. 
Morphos  are  among  the  most  conspicuous  of 
the  insect  denizens  of  tropical  American  for- 
ests, and  the  broad  glades  of  the  Villa  Nova 
woods  sc3tned  especially  suited  to  them,  for 
1  noticed  Tj  ?re  s!*  species.  The  largest  spec*- 


THE  NATURALIST   ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


mens  t/f  Morpho  Cisseis  measure  seven  inches 
and  a  half  in  expanse.  Another  smaller 
kind,  which  I  could  not  capture,  was  of  a 
pale  silvery-blue  color,  and  the  polished  sur- 
face of  its  wings  flashed  like  a  silver  specu- 
Jum,  as  the  insect  flapped  its  wings  at  a  great 
elevation  in  the  sunlight. 

To  resume  our  voyage.  We  left  Villa 
Nova  on  the  4th  of  December.  A  light  wind 
on  the  5th  carried  us  across  to  the  opposite 
shore  and  past  the  mouth  of  the  Parana- 
mirim  do  arco,  or  the  little  river  of  the  bow, 
so  called  on  account  of  its  being  a  short  arm 
of  the  main  river,  of  a  curved  shape,  rejoin- 
ing the  Amazons  a  little  below  Villa  Nova. 
On  the  6th,  after  passing  a  large  island  in 
mid-river,  we  arrived  at  a  place  where  a  line 
of  perpendicular  clay  cliffs,  called  the  Bar- 
reiros  de  Cararaucu,  diverts  slightly  the 
course  of  the  main  stream,  as  at  Obydos.  A 
little  below  these  cliffs  were  a  few  settlers' 
houses  :  here  Penua  remained  ten  days  to 
trade,  a  delay  which  I  turned  to  good  account 
in  augmenting  very  considerably  my  collec- 
tions. 

At  the  first  house  a  festival  was  going  for- 
ward. We  anchored  at  some  distance  from 
the  shore,  on  account  of  the  water  being 
shoaly,  and  early  in  the  morning  three  canoes 
put  off,  laden  with  salt  fish,  oil  of  manatee, 
fowls,  and  bananas,  wares  which  the  owners 
wished  to  exchange  for  different  articles  re- 
quired for  the  festa.  Soon  after  I  went 
ashore.  The  head  man  was  a  tall,  well- 
made  civilized  Tapuyo,  named  Marcellino, 
who,  wkh  his  wife,  a  thin,  active,  wiry  old 
aquaw,  did  the  honors  of  their  house,  I 
thought,  admirably.  The  company  consist- 
ed of  fifty  or*  sixty  Indians  and  mamelucos  ; 
some  of  them  knew  Portuguese,  but  the  Tupi 
language  was  the  only  one  used  among  them- 
selves. The  festival  was  in  honor  of  our 
Lady  of  Conception;  and  when  the  people 
learned  that  Penna  had  on  board  an  image 
of  the  saint  handsomer  than  their  own,  they 
put  off  in  their  canoes  to  borrow  it ;  Marcel- 
lino  taking  charge  of  the  doll,  covering  it 
carefully  with  a  neatly-bordered  white  towel. 
On  landing  with  the  image,  a  procession  was 
formed  from  the  port  to  the  house,  and 
salutes  fired  from  a  couple  of  lazarino  guns, 
the  saint  being  afterward  carefully  deposited 
in  the  family  oratorio.  After  a  litany  and 
hymn  were  sung  in  the  evening,  all  assem- 
bled to  supper  around  a  large  mat  spread  on 
a  smooth  terrace-like  space  in  front  of  the 
house.  The  meal  consisted  of  a  large  boiled 
Pirarecu,  which  had  beeu  harpooned  for  the 
purpose  in  the  morning,  stewed  and  roasted 
turtle,  piles  of  inaudioca-meal,  and  bananas. 
The  old  lady,  with  two  young  girls,  showed 
the  greatest  activity  in  waiting  on  the  guests, 
Marcellino  standing  gravely  bv,  observing 
what  was  wanted,  and  giving  the  necessary 
orders  to  his  wife.  When  all  was  done,  hard 
drinking  began,  and  soon  after  there  was  a 
dance,  to  which  Penna  and  I  were  invited. 
The  liquor  served  was  chiefly  a  spirit  dis- 
tilled by  the  people  themselves  from  man- 
dioca  cakes.  The  dances  were  all  of  the 


same  class,  namely,  different  varieties  of  the 
"landum,"  an  erotic  dance  similar  to  tin* 
fandango,  originally  learned  from  the  Portu- 
guese. The  music  was  supplied  by  a  couple 
of  wire-stringed  guitars,  played  alternately 
by  the  youug  men.  All  passed  off  very- 
quietly,  considering  the  amount  of  strong 
liquor  drunk,  and  the  ball  was  kept  up  until, 
sunrise  the  next  morning. 

We  visited  all  the  houses  one  after  the 
pthft-.  One  of  them  was  situated  in  a  charm- 
ing spot,  with  a  broad  sandy  beach  before  it, 
at  the  entrance  to  the  Parana-niirim  do  Mu- 
carnbo,  a  channel  leading  to  an  interior  lake, 
peopled  by  savages  of  the  Mura  tribe. 
This  seemed  to  be  the  abode  of  an  industri- 
ous family,  but  all  the  men  were  absent,  salt- 
ing Pirarecu  on  the  lakes.  The  house,  like 
its  neighbors,  was  simply  a  framework  of 
poles  thatched  with  palm-leaves,  the  walla; 
roughly  latticed  and  plastered  with  mud  ;. 
but  it  was  larger,  and  much  cleaner  inside  than 
the  others.  It  was  full  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  were  busy  all  day  with  their  vari- 
ous employments  :  some  weaving  hammoeks- 
in  a  large  clumsy  frame,  which  held  the  warp- 
while  the  shuttle  was  passed  by  the  hand 
slowly  across  the  six  feet  breadth  of  web  ; 
others  spinning  cotton,  and  others  again, 
scraping,  pressing,  and  roasting  mandioca. 
The  family  had  cleared  and  cultivated  a. 
large  piece  of  ground  ;  the  soil  was  of  ex- 
traordinary richness,  the  perpendicular  banks 
of  the  river,  near  the  house,  revealing  a 
depth  of  many  feet  of  crumbling  vegetable 
mould.  There  was  a  large  plantation  of  to- 
bacco, besides  the  usual  patches  of  Indian 
corn,  sugar-cane,  and  maudioca ;  and  a 
grove  of  cotton,  cacao,  coffee  and  fruit  trees 
surrounded  the  house.  We  passed  two 
nights  at  anchor  in  shoaly  water  off  the 
beach.  The  weather  was  most  beautiful, 
and  scores  of  dolphins  rolled  and  snorted 
about  the  canoe  all  night. 

We  crossed  the  river  at  this  point,  and  en- 
tered a  narrow  channel  which  penetrates  the- 
interior  of  the  island  of  Tupinambarana,  and 
leads  to  &  chain  of  lakes  called  the  Lagos  de 
Cararaucu.     A  furious  current  swept  along 
the  coast,  eating  into  the  crumbling  earthy- 
banks,  and  strewing  the  river  with  debris  of" 
the  forest.     The  mouth  of  the  channel  lies 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  Villa  Nova ; 
the  entrance  is  only  about  forty  yards  broad, 
but  it  expands,  a  short  distance  inland,  into 
a  large  sheet  of  water.     We  suffered  ter-ibly 
from  insect  pests    during    the  twenty-four 
hours  we  remained  here.     At  night  it  v»as 
quite  impossible  to  sleep  for  mosquitoes  ; 
they  fell  upon  us  by  myriads,  and  without 
much  piping  came  straight  at  our  faces  as. 
thick  as  raindrops  in  a  shower.     The  men 
crowded  into  the  cabins,  and  then  tried  to 
expel  the  pests  by  the  smoke  from  burned 
rags,  but  it  was  of  little  avail,  although  we- 
were  half  suffocated  during  the  operation. 
In  the  daytime  the  Motuca,  a  much  larger 
and  more  formidable  fly  than  the  mosquito, 
insisted  upon  levying  his  tax  of  blood.     We 
liad  beeu  tormented  by  it  for  many  daj's  pust,. 


<682 


THE  NATURALIST   ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


but  this  p'ace  seemed  to  be  its  metropolis. 
The  species  has  been  described  by  Perty,  the 
author  of  the  Entomological  portion  of  Spix 
iind  Marti  us'  travels,  under  the  name  of 
Hadrus  lepidotus.  It  is  a  member  of  the 
Tabanidae  family,  and  indeed  is  closely  re- 
lated to  the  Hsematopota  pluvialis,  a  brown 
fly  which  haunts  the  borders  of  woods  in 
summer  time  iu  England.  The  Mottica  is  of 
a  bronzed-black  color ;  its  proboscis  is 
formed  of  a  bundle  of  horny  lancets,  which 
we  shorter  and  broader  than  is  usually  the 
case  in  the  family  to  which  it  belongs.  Its 
puncture  does  not  pioduce  much  pain,  but  it 
makes  such  a  large  gash  in  the  flesh  that  the 
blood  trickles  forth  in  little  streams.  Many 
scores  of  thorn  were  flyicg  about  the  canoe 
all  day,  and  sometimes  eight  or  ten  would 
settle  on  one's  ankles  at  the  same  time.  It 
is  sluggish  in  its  motions,  and  may  be  easily 
killed  with  the  fingers  when  it  settles.  Pen- 
.na  went  forward  in  the  montaria  to  the 
Pirarecu  fishing  stations,  on  a  lake  lying  fur- 
ther inland  ;  but  he  did  not  succeed  in  reach- 
ing them  on  account  of  the  length  and  intri- 
cacy cf  the  channels  ;  so  after  wasting  a  day, 
-during  which,  however,  I  had  a  profitable 
ramble  in  the  forest,  we  again  crossed  the 
river,  and  on  the  16th  continued  our  voyage 
along  the  northern  shore. 

The  clay  cliffs  of  Cararaucu  are  several 
miles    in    length.     The   hard  pink-and-red- 

•  colored  beds  are  here  extremely  thick,  and  in 
.some  places  present  a  compact  stony  texture. 
The  total  height  of  the  cliff  is  from  thirty  to 

-sixty  feet  above  the  mean  level  of  the  river, 
-and'the  clay  rests  on  strata  of  the  same  coarse 
iron-cemented  conglomerate  which  has 
;al  ready  been  so  often  mentioned.  Large 
blocks  of  this  latter  have  been  detached  and 
rolled  by  the  force  of  currents  up  parts  of 
the  rliff,  where  they  are  seen  resting  on  ter- 
races of  the  clay.  On  the  top  of  all  lies  a 
bed  of  sand  and  vegetable  mould,  which 
supports  a  lofty  forest,  growing  up  to  the 
very  brink  of  the  precipice.  After  passing 
the.'  e  barreiros  we  continued  our  way  along 
~a  low  uninhabited  coast,  clothed,  wherever 
it  was  elevated  above  high-water  mark,  with 
the  usual  vividly-colored  forests  of  the  higher 
Ygapo  lands,  to  which  the  broad  and  regular 
fronds  of  the  Murumurti  palm,  here  ex- 
tremely abundant,  served  as  a  great  decora- 
tion. Wherever  the  land  was  lower  than  the 
flood  height  of  the  Amazons,  Cecropia  trees 
prevailed,  sometimes  scattered  over  meadows 
of  lull  b.oud  leaved  grasses,  which  surround- 
ed shallow  pools  swarming  with  water-fowl. 
AJligat  jjs  were  common  on  most  partsof  the 

•  coast ;  in  seme  places  we  saw  also  small  herds 
-of  Capy  haras  (a  large  Rodent  animal,  like  a 
colossal  Guinea-pig)  among  the  rank  herbage 
on  muddy  banks,  and  now  and  then  flocks 
of  the    graceful  squirrel  monkey-  (Chryso- 
thrix  sciureus),  and  the  vivacious  Caiarara 

~<Cebus  albifrons)  were  seen  taking  flying 
leaps  from  tree  to  tree.  On  the  22d  we  pass- 
ed the  mouth  of  the  most  easterly  of  the  nu- 
Jnerous  channels  which  lead  to  the  large  in- 
sterior  lake  of  Saraca,  and  on  the  23d  threaded 


a  series  of  passages  between  islands,  where 
we  again  saw  human  habitations,  ninety  miles 
distant  from  the  last  house  at  Cararaucu. 
On  the  24th  we  arrived  at  Serpa. 

Serpa  is  a  small  village,  consisting  of  about 
eighty    houses,    built   on   a    bank  elevated 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river. 
'The  beds  of  Tabatinga  clay,  which  are  here 
intermingled  with  scoria-looking  conglomer- 
ate, are  in  some  parts  of  the  declivity  prettily 
variegated  in  color  ;  the  name  of  the  town  iu 
the  Tupi  language,  Ita-coatiara,  takes  its  or- 
igin from  this  circumstance,  signifying  stri- 
ped or  painted  rock.     It  is  an  old  settlement, 
and  was  once  the  seat  of  the  district  govern- 
ment, which  had  authority  over  the  Barra  of 
the  Rio  Negro.     It  was  in  1849  a  wretched- 
looking  village,  but  it  has  since  revived,  on 
account  of  having  been  chosen  by  the  {Steam- 
boat Company  of  the  Amazons  as  a  station 
for  steam  saw-mills  and  tile  manufactories. 
We  arrived  on  Christmas-eve,  when  the  vil- 
lage presented  an  animated  appearance  from 
the  number  of  people  congregated  for  the 
holidays.     The  port  was  full  of  canoes,  large 
and     small— from    the    montaria,   with    its 
arched  awning  of  woven  lianas  and  aranta- 
leaves,  to  the  two-masted  cuberta  of  the  ped- 
dling trader,  who  had  resorted  to  the  place 
in  the  hope  of  trafficking  with  settlers  coming 
from  remote  sitios  to  attend  the  festival.    We 
anchored  close  to  an  igarite,  whose  owner 
was  an  old  Juri  Indian,  disfigured  by  a  large 
black  tattooed  patch  in  the  middle  of  his  face, 
and  by  his  hair  being  close  cropped,  except 
a  fringe  in  front  of  the  head.     In  the  after- 
noon   we    went    ashore.       The    population 
seemed  to  consist  chiefly  of  semi-civilized  In- 
dians, living  as  usual  in  half-finished  mud 
hovels.      The   streets  were  irregularly  laid 
out,  and  overrun  with  weeds  and   bushes, 
swarming  with  "mocuirn,"  a  very  minute 
scarlet  acarus,  which  sweeps  off    to    one's 
clothes  in   passing,  and  attaching  itself  in 
great  numbers  to  the  skin  causes  a  most  dis- 
agreeable itching.     The  few  whiles  and  bet- 
ter class  of  mameluco  residents  live  in  more 
substantial  dwellings,  whitewashed  and  tiled. 
All,  both  men  and  women,  seemed  to  me 
much  more  cordial,  and  at   the  same  time 
more  brusque  in  their  manners  than  any  Bra- 
zilians I  had  yet  met  with.     One  of  them, 
Captain  Manoel  Joaquim,  I  knew  for  a  long 
time  afterward  ;    a    lively,  intelligent,  and 
thoroughly  good-hearted  man,  who  had  quite 
a  reputation  throughout  the  interior  of  the 
country  for  generosity,  and  for  being  a  firm 
friend  of  foreign  residents  and  stray  travel- 
lers.    Some  of  these  excellent  people  were 
men  of  substance,  being  owners  of  trading 
vessels,  slaves,  and  extensive  plantations  of 
cacao  and  tobacco. 

We  stayed  at  Serpa  five  days.  Some  of 
the  ceremonies  observed  at  Christmas  were 
interesting,  inasmuch  as  they  were  the  same, 
with  little  modification,  as  those  taught  by 
the  Jesuit  missionaries  more  than  a  century 
ago,  to  the  aboriginal  tribes  whom  they  had 
induced  to  settle  on  this  spot.  In  the  morn- 
ing all  the  women  and  girls,  dressed  in  whita 


THE  NATURALIST   ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS 


gauze  chemises  and  showy  calico  print  petti- 
coats, went  in  procession  to  church,  fiist 
going  the  round  of  the  town  to  take  up  the 
different  "  mordomos,"  or  stewards,  whose 
office  is  to  assist  the  Juizof  the  festa.  These 
stewards  carried  each  a  long  white  reed, 
decorated  with  colored  ribbons  ;  several  chil- 
dren also  accompanied,  grotesquely  decked 
with  finery.  Three  old  squaws  went  in 
front,  holding  the  "  saire,"  a  large  semicir- 
cular frame,  clothed  with  cotton  and  studded 
with  ornaments,  bits^of  looking-glass,  and  so 
forth.  This  they  danced  up  and  down,  sing- 
ing all  the  time  a  monotonous  whining  hymn 
io  tlie  Tupi  language,  and  at  frequent  inter- 
vals turning  round  to  face  the  followers,  who 
then  all  stopped  for  a  few  moments.  I  was 
told  that  this  saire  was  a  device  adopted  by 
the  Jesuits  to  attract  the  savages  to  church, 
for  these  everywhere  followed  the  mirrors, 
in  which  they  saw  as  it  were  magically  re- 
llected  their  own  persons.  In  the  evening 
good-humored  revelry  prevailed  on  all  sides. 
The  negroes,  who  had  a  saint  of  their  own 
color — St.  Benedito — had  their  holiday  apart 
from  (he  rest,  and  spent  the  whole  night  sing- 
ing and  dancing,  to  the  music  of  a  long  drum 
•(i>;amba)  and  the  caracasha.  The  drum  was 
•  ti  hollow  log,  having  one  end  covered  with 
.  skin,  and  was  played  by  the  performer  sitting 
astride  upon  it  and  drumming  with  his 
knuckles.  The  caracasha  is  a  notched  bam- 
boo tube,  which  produces  a  harsh  rattling 
noise  by  passing  a  hard  stick  over  the 
notches.  Nothing  could  exceed  in  dreary 
monotony  this  music  and  the  singing  and 
dancing,  which  were  kept  up  with  unflag- 
ging vigor  all  night  long.  The  Indians  did 
not  get  up  a  dance  ;  for  the  whites  and  inam- 
elucos  had  monopolized  all  the  pretty 
colored  girls  for  their  own  ball,  and  the  older 
squaws  pieferrt'd  looking  on  to  taking  a  part 
themselves.  Some  of  their  husbands  joined 
the  negroes,  and  got  drunk  very  quickly.  It 
was  amusing  to  notice  how  voluble  the  usu- 
ally taciturn  red-skins  became  under  the  in- 
fluence of  liquor.  The  negroes  and  Indians 
excused  their  own  inteirperance  by  saying 
the  whites  were  getting  drunk  at  the  other 
end  of  the  town,  which  was  quite  true. 

We  left  Serpa  on  the  29th  of  December,  in 
company  of  an  old  planter  named  Senhor 
JoaO  (John)  Trinidade  ;  at  whose  sitio,  situ- 
ated opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Madeira, 
Penna  intended  to  spend  a  few  days.  Our 
course  on  the  29th  and  30th  lay  through  nar- 
row channels  between  islands.  On  the  31st 
we  passed  the  last  of  these,  and  then  beheld 
to  the  south  a  sea-like  expanse  of  water, 
vwhere  the  Madeira,  the  greatest  tributary  of 
'the  Am:  zons,  after  2000  miles  of  course, 
blends  its  waters  with  those  of  the  king  of 
rivers.  I  was  hardly  prepared  for  a  junction 
of  waters  on  so  vast  a  scale  as  this,  now 
nearly  900  miles  from  the  sea.  While  travel-, 
ling  week  after  week  along  the  somewhat 
monotonous  stream,  often  hemmed  in  be- 
tween islands,  and  becoming  thoroughly 
:familiar  with  it,  my  sense  of  the  magnitude 
'-of  this  vast  water  system  had  beeomo 


ally  (leadened  ;  but  this  noble  bight  renewed 
the  first  feelings  of  wonder.  One  is  inclined, 
in  such  places  as  these,  to  think  the  Paraenses 
do  not  exaggerate  much  when  they  call  the 
Amazons  the  Mediterranean  of  South  Ameri* 
ca.  Beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Madeira,  the 
Amazons  sweeps  down  in  a  majestic  reach, 
to  all  appearance  not  a  whit  less  in  breadth 
before,  than  after,  this  enormous  addition  to 
its  waters.  The  Madeira  does  not  ebb  and 
flow  simultaneously  with  the  Amazons  ;  i( 
rises  and  sinks  about  two  mouths  earlier,  so 
that  it  was  now  fuller  than  the  main  river. 
Its  current  therefore  poured  forth  freely  from 
its  mouth,  carrying  with  it  a  long  line  of 
floating  trees  and  patches  of  grass,  which 
had  been  torn  from  its  crumbly  banks  in  the 
lower  part  of  its  course.  The  current,  how- 
ever, did  not  reach  the  middla  of  the  main 
stream,  but  swept  along  nearer  to  the  south- 
ern  shore. 

A  few  items  of  information  which  I  gleaned 
relative  to  this  river  may  find  a  place  here. 
The  Madeira  is  navigable  for  about  480  miles 
from  its  mouth  ;  a  series  of  cataracts  and 
rapids  then  commences,  which  extends,  with 
some  intervals  of  quiet  water,  about  160 
miles,  beyond  which  is  another  long  stretch 
of  navigable  stream.  Canoes  sometimes  de- 
scend from  Villa  Bella,  in  the  interior  prov- 
ince of  Matto  Grosso,  but  not  so  frequently 
as  f c  rmerly,  and  I  could  Lear  of  very  few 
persons  who  had  attempted  of  late  years  to 
ascend  the  river  to  that  point.  It  was  ex- 
plored by  the  Portuguese  in  the  early  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century  ;  the  chief  and  now  the 
only  town  on  is  banks,  Borba,  150  inilea 
from  its  mouth,  being  founded  in  1756.  Up 
to  the  year  1853,  the  lower  part  of  the  river, 
as  far  as  about  100  miles  beyond  Borba,  was 
regularly  visited  by  traders  from  Villa  Nova, 
Serpa,  and  Barra,  to  collect  sarsaparilla, 
copaiba  balsam,  turtle  oil,  and  to  trade  with 
the  Indians,  with  whom  their  relations  were 
generally  on  a  friendly  footing.  In  that  year 
many  india-rubber  collectors  resorted  to  this 
region,  stimulated  by  the  high  price  (2*.  6d. 
per  pound)  which  the  article  was  at  that  time 
fetching  at  Para  ;,and  then  the  Araras,  a  fierce 
and  intractable  tribe  of  Indians,  began  to  be 
troublesome.  They  attacked  several  canoes 
and  massacred  every  one  on  board, the  Indian 
crews  as  well  as  the  white  traders.  Theii 
plan  was  to  lurk  in  ambush  near  the  sandy 
beaches,  where  canoes  stop  for  the  night,  ancj 
then  fall  upon  the  people  while  asleep. 
Sometimes  they  came  under  pretence  of 
wishing  to  trade,  and  then  as  soon  as  they 
could  get  the  trader  at  a  disadvantage  shot 
him  and  his  crew  from  behind  trees.  Their 
arms  were  clubs,  bows,  and  Taquara  arrows, 
the  latter  a  formidable  weapon  tipped  with  a 
piece  of  flinty  bamboo  shaped  like  a  spear- 
head  ;  they  could  propel  it  with  such  force  as 
to  pierce  a  man  completely  through  the  body. 
The  whites  of  Borba  made  reprisals,  indue- 
ing  the  warlike  Mundurucus,  who  had  an  old 
feud  with  the  Arams,  to  assist  them.  This 
slate  of  things  lasted  two  or  three  years,  and 
^a-de  a  journey  up  the  Madeira  a  risky  un- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


dertaklng,  as  the  savages  attacked  all  comers. 
Besides  the  Araras  and  the  Mundurucus,  the 
latter  a  tribe  friendly  to  the  whites,  attached 
to  agriculture,  and  inhabiting  the  interior  of 
the  country  from  the  Madeira  to  beyond  the 
Tapajos,  two  other  tribes  of  Indians  now 
inhabit  the  lower  Madeira,  namely,  the 
Parentintms  and  the  Muras.  Of  the  former 
I  did  not  hear  much  ;  the  Muras  lead  a  lazy 
quiet  life  on  the  banks  of  the  labyrinths  of 
lakes  and  channels  which  intersect  the  low 
country  on  both  sides  of  the  river  below 
Borba.  The  Araras  are  one  of  those  tribes 
which  do  not  plant  mandioca,  and  indeed 
have  no  settled  habitations.  They  are  very 
similar  in  stature  and  other  physical  features 
to  the  Mundurucus,  although  differing  from 
them  so  widely  in  habits 'and  social  condi- 
tion. They  paint  their  chins  red  with  Uructi 
(anatto),  and  have  usually  a  black  tattooed 
streak  on  each  side  of  the  face,  running  from 
the  corner  of  the  mouth  to  the  temple.  They 
have  not  yet  learned  the  use  of  firearms,  have 
no  canoes,  and  spend  their  lives  roaming 
over  the  interior  Of  the  country,  living  on 
game  and  wild  fruits.  When  they  wish  to 
cross  a  river  they  make  a  temporary  canoe 
with  the  thick  bark  of  trees,  which  they 
secure  in  the  required  shape  of  a  boat  by 
means  of  lianas.  I  heard  it  stated  by  a  trader 
of  Sautarem,  who  narrowly  escaped  being 
butchered  by  them  in  1854,  Ibat  the  Araras 
numbered  two  thousand  fighting  men.  The 
number  I  think  must  be  exaggerated,  as  it 
generally  is  with  regard  to  Brazilian  tribes. 
When  the  Indians  show  a  hostile  disposition 
to  the  whites,  I  believe  it  is  most  frequently 
owing  to  some  provocation  they  have  re- 
ceived at  their  hands  ;  for  the  fust  impulse  of 
the  Brazilian  red-man  is  to  respect  Euro- 
peans ;  they  have  a  strong  dislike  to  be  forced 
into  their  service,  but  if  strangers  visit  them 
with  a  friendly  intention  they  are  well  treat- 
ed. It  is  related,  however,  that  the  Indians 
of  the  Madeira  were  hostile  to  the  Portuguese 
from  the  first ;  it  was  then  the  tribes  of 
Muras  and  Torazes  who  attacked  travellers. 
In  1855  I  met  with  an  American,  an  odd 
character,  named  Kemp,  who  had  lived  for 
many  years  among  the  Indians  on  the 
Madeira,  near  the  abandoned  settlement  of 
Crato.  He  tofcl  me  his  neighbors  were  a 
kindly-disposed  and  cheerful  people,  and  that 
the  onslaught  of  the  Araras  was  provoked 
by  a  trader  from  Barra,  who  wantonly  fired 
into  a  family  of  them,  killing  the  parents, 
and  carrying  off  their  children  to  be  employ- 
ed as  domestic  servants. 

We  remained  nine  days  at  the  sitio  of 
Senhor  John  Trinidade.  It  is  situated  on  a 
tract  of  high  Ygapo  land,  which  is  laised, 
however,  only  a  few  inches  above  high-water 
mark.  This  skirts  the  northern  shoie  for  a 
long  distance  ;  the  soil  consisting  of  alluvium 
and  lich  vegetable  mould,  arid  exhibiting  the 
most  exuberant  lertility.  Buch  districts  are 
the  first  to  be  settled  on  in  this  country,  and 
the  whole  coast  for  many  miles  WHS  dott'd 
with  pleasant-looking  sitios  like  thai  of  ^u* 


friend.     The  establishment  was  a  large  onev 
the  house  and  out-buildings  covering  a  large* 
space  of  ground.     The  industrious  propi  ietor 
seemed   to    be   jack-of -all -trades ;    he     was 
planter,  trader,  fisherman,  and  canoe-builder, 
and  a  large  igarite  was  now  on  the  stocks, 
under  a  large  shed.     Theie  was  gieat  pleas- 
ure in  contemplating  this  prosperous  fatm, 
from  its  being  worked  almost  entirely  by  free; 
labor  ;    in    fact,  by  one   family  and   its  de- 
pendants.     John  Trinidade  had  only    one 
female  slave  ;  his  ether  workpeople  were  a 
brother  and  sister-in-law,"  two  godsons,  a  free 
negro,  one  or  two  Indians,  and  a  family  of 
Muras.     Both  he  and  his  wife  were  mame- 
lucos  ;  the  negro  children  called  them  always- 
father  and  mother.     The  order,  abundance, 
and  comfort  about  the  place  showed  what 
industry  and  good  management  could  effect 
in  this  country  without  slave-labor.     But  tbe- 
surplus  produce  of  such  small  plantations  is 
very   trifling.      All   we  saw  had   been  done 
since  the  disorders  of  1835-6,  during  which 
John  Trinidade  was  a  great  sufferer  ;  he  was 
obliged  to  fly,  and  the  Mura  Indians    de- 
stroyed his  house  and  plantations.  There  was 
a  large,  well-  weeded  grove  of  cacao  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  comprising  about   8000 
trees,  and  farther  inland  considerable  planta- 
tions of  tobacco,  mandioca,  Indian  corn,  fields 
of  rice,  melons,  and  water-melons.     Near  the 
house  was  a  kitchen-garden,  in  which  grew 
cabbages  and  onions  introduced  from    Eu- 
rope, besides  a  wonderful  variety  of  tropical 
vegetables.      It  must  not  be  supposed  that 
these  plantations  and  gardens  were  inclosed 
or  neatly  kept ;  such  is  never  the  case  in  this 
country,  where  labor  is  so  scarce  ;  but  it  was 
an  unusual  thing  to  see  vegetables  grown  at 
all,  and  the  ground  tolerably  well  weeded. 
The  space  around  the  house  was  plentifully 
planted  with  fruit-trees,  some,  belonging  to 
the    Anonaceous    order,   yielding    delicious 
fruits  large  as  a  child's  head,  and  full  of  cus- 
tardy  pulp  which  it  is  necessary  to  eat  with 
a  spoon  ;    besides  oranges,  lemons,  guavas, 
alligator  pears,  Abius  (Achras  cainito),  Geni— 
papas,  and  bananas.     In  the  shade  of  these, 
coffee-trees  grew  in  great  luxuriance.     The- 
table  was  always  well  supplied  with   fish, 
which  the  Mura,  who  was  attached  to  the*- 
household  as  fisherman,  caught  every  morn- 
ing a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  port.    The 
chief  kinds  were  the  Surubim,  Pira-peeua, 
and  Piramutaba,  three  species  of  Siluri.hc, 
belonging  to  the  genus  Phnelodus.    To  thtse- 
we  used  a  sauce  in  the.  form  of  a  yellow 
paste,  quite  new  to  me,  called  Am  be,  which, 
is  marie  of  the  poisonous  juice  of  the  man- 
dioci  root,  boiled  down  before  the  starch  or 
tapioca  is   precipitated,   and   seasoned  with 
capsicum  peppers.    It  is  kept  in  stone  bottles 
several  weeks  before  using,  and  is  a  most  ap- 
petizing relish  to  fish.    Tucupi,  another  sauctr 
male   also   from   mandioca  juice,    is  much 
more  common  in  the  interior  of  the  countf, 
than   Arubo.      This  is  made  by  boiling  or 
huatitrr  the  pure  liquid,  after  the  tapioca  has 
bc«"«  •  pai -it jd,  daily  for  several  days  in  sue- 
iiOStivmj  AH  1  seasoning  it  with  pei>i>eis> 


1'HE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


685 


small  fishes;  when  old  it  has  the  taste  of 
essence  of  anchovies.  It  is  generally  made 
as  a  liquid,  but  the  Juii  and  Miianha  tribes 
on  the  Japura,  make  it  up  in  the  form  of  a 
black  paste,  by  a  mode  of  preparation  I  could 
not  learn  :  it  is  then  called  Tucupi-pixuua, 
or  black  Tucupi.  I  have  seen  the  Indians  on 
the  Tapajos,  where  fish  is  scarce,  season  Tu- 
cupi with  Saiiba  ants.  It  is  there  used  chiefly 
as  a  sauce  to  Tacaea,  another  preparation 
from  maudioca,  consisting  of  the  staich 
beaten  up  in  boiling  water. 

I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  nine  days  we 
spent  at  this  place.  Our  host  and  hostess 
took  an  interest  in  my  pursuit ;  one  of  the 
best  chambers  in  the  house  was  given  up  to 
me,  and  the  young  men  took  me  long  ram- 
bles in  the  neighboring  forests.  I  saw  very 
little  hard  work  goiug  forward.  Every  one 
rose  with  the  dawn,  and  went  down  to  tko 
river  to  bathe  ;  then  came  the  never-failing 
cup  of  rich  and  strong  coffee,  after  which  all 
proceeded  to  their  avocations.  At  this  time 
nothing  was  being  done  at  the  plantations  ; 
the  cacao  aud  tobacco  crops  were  not  ripe  ; 
weeding  time  was  over,  and  the  only  work 
on  foot  was  the  preparation  of  a  little  farinha 
by  the  women.  The  men  dawdled  about : 
went  shooting  and  fishing,  or  did  trifling  jobs 
about  the  house.  The  only  laborious  work 
dou»3  during  the  year  in  these  establishments 
is  the  felling  of  timber  for  new  clearings; 
this  happens  at  the  beginning  of  the  dry  sea- 
•son,  namely,  from  July  to  September.  What- 
ever employment  the  people  were  engaged 
in,  they  did  not  intermit  it  during  the  hot 
liours  of  the  day.  Those  who  went  into  the 
woods  took  their  dinners  with  them — a  small 
bag  of  farinha  and  a  slice  of  salt  fish.  About 
.sunset  all  returned  to  the  house  ;  they  then 
liad  tl>eir  frugal  suppers,  and  toward  eight 
o'clock,  after  coming  to  ask  a  blessing  of  the 
patriarchal  head  of  the  household,  went  off 
to  their  hammocks  to  sleep. 

John  Trinidade  was  famous  for  his  tobacco 
-and  cigarettes,  as  he  took  great  pains  in  pre- 
paring the  Tauari,  or  envelope,  which  is 
formed  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  separated 
into  thin  papery  layers.  Many  trees  yield  it, 
among  them  the  Courataria  Guianensis  and 
the  Sapucaya  nut-tree,  both  belonging  to  the 
same  natural  order.  The  bark  is  cut  in  long 
strips,  of  a  breadth  suitable  for  folding  the 
tobacco  ;  the  inner  portion  is  then  separated, 
boiled,  hammered  with  a  wooden  mallet,  and 
exposed  to  the  air  for  a  few  hours.  Some 
kinds  have  a  reddish  color  and  an  astringent 
taste,  but  the  sort  prepared  by  our  host  was 
of  a  beautiful  satiny -white  hue,  and  perfectly 
tasteless.  He  obtained  sixty,  eighty,  and 
sometimes  a  hundred  layers  from  the  same 
strip  of  bark.  The  best  tobaocn  in  Brazil  is 
.grown  in  the  neighborhood  of  Borba,  01  the 
Madeira,  where  the  soil  is  a  rich  black  H>t,m  ; 
but  tobacco  of  very  good  quality  was  grown 
by  John  Triuidade  and  his  neighbors  abng 
this  coast,  on  similar  soil.  It  is  mat?0  "ip 
-into  slender  rolls,  an  inch  and  <i  hai:  in 
diameter  and  six  feet  in  length,  lapering  s.t 
•*s*ch  end.  When  the  leaves  are  itulhered  *uni 


partially  dried,  layers  of  them,  after  the  mid 
ribs  are  plucked  out,  are  placed  ou  a  mat  and 
rolled  up  into  the  required  shape.  This  is 
done  by  the  women  and  children,  who  also 
manage  the  planting,  weeding,  and  gathering 
of  the  tobacco.  The  process  of  tightening 
the  rolls  is  a  long  and  heavy  task,  and  can 
be  done  only  by  men.  The  cords  used  for 
this  purpose  are  of  very  great  strength. 
They  are  made  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  peculiar 
light-wooded  and  slender  tree,  called  Uais 
sima,  which  yields,  when  beaten  out,  a  great 
quantity  of  most  beautiful  silky  fibre,  many 
feet  in  length.  I  think  this  might  be  turned 
to  some  use  by  English  manufacturers,  if 
they  could  obtain  it  in  large  quantity.  The 
tree  is  abundant  on  light  soils  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  Lower  Amazons,  and  grows 
very  rapidly.  When  the  rolls  are  sufficiently 
Well  pressed,  they  are  bound  round  with  nar- 
row thongs  of  remarkable  toughness,  cut 
from  the  bark  of  the  climbing  Jacitara  palm- 
tree  (Desmoncus  macrancathus),  and  are  then 
ready  for  sale  or  use. 

It  was  very  pleasant  to  roam  in  our  host's 
cacaoal.  The  ground  was  clear  of  under- 
wood, the  trees  were  about  thirty  feet  in 
height,  and  formed,  a  dense  shade.  Two 
species  of  monkey  frequented  the  trees,  and, 
I  was  told,  committed  great  'depredations 
when  the  fruit  was  ripe.  One  of  these,  the 
macaco  prego  (Cebus  cirrhifer  ?),  is  a  most  im- 
pudent thief  ;  it  destroys  more  than  it  eats, 
by  its  random,  hasty  way  of  plucking  and 
breaking  the  fruits,  and  when  about  to  re- 
turn to  the  forest  carries  away  all  it  can  in 
its  hands  or  under  its  arms.  The  other  spe- 
cies, the  pretty  little  Chrysothrix  sciureus, 
contents  itself  with  devouring  what  it  can  on 
the  spot.  A  variety  of  beautiful  insects 
basked  on  the  foliage,  where  stray  gleams  of 
sunlight  glanced  through  the  canopy  of  broad 
soft-green  leaves,  and  numbers  of  an  elegant 
long-legged  tiger-beetle  (Odontocheila  egre- 
gia)  ran  and  flew  about  over  the  herbage. 

We  left  this  place  on  the  8th  of  January, 
and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  arrived  at 
Matari,  a  miserable  little  settlement  of  Mtiia 
Indians.  Here  we  again  anchored  and  WCIH 
ashore.  The  place  consisted  of  about  twenty 
slightly-built  mud  hovels,  and  had  a  most 
forlorn  appearance,  notwithstanding  the  lux- 
uriant forest  in  its  rear.  A  horde  of  these 
Indians  settled  here  many  years  ago,  on  the 
site  of  an  abandoned  missionary  station,  and 
the  Government  had  lately  placed  a  resident 
director  over  them,  with  the  intention  of 
bringing  the  hitherto  intractable  savages  un- 
der authority.  This,  however,  seemed  to 
promise  no  other  result  than  that  cf  driving 
them  to  thefr  old  solitary  haunts,  on  th« 
banks  of  the  interior  waters,  for  many  fam- 
ilies had  already  withdrawn  themselves. 
The  absence  of  the  usual  cultivated  trees  and 
plants  gave  the  place  a  naked  and  poverty- 
stricken  aspect.  I  entered  one  of  the  hovels, 
where  several  women  were  employed  cook- 
ing a  meal.  Portions  of  a  large" fish  were 
resting  over  a  fire  made  in  the  middle  of  the 
Vow  ( Liatnber,  and  the  entrails  were  scattered 


686 


THE  NATURALIST   ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


about  the  floor,  on  which  the  women  WHO. 
their  children  were  squatted.  These  had  a 
timid,  distrustful  expression  of  countenance, 
and  their  bodies  were  begrimed  with  black 
mud,  which  is  smeared  over  the  skin  as  a 
protection  against  mosquitoes.  The  children 
were  naked>  the  women  wore  petticoats  uf 
coarse  cloth,  ragged  round  the  edges,  and 
stained  in  blotches  with  murixi.  a  dye  made 
from  the  bark  of  a  tree.  One  of  them  wore  a 
necklace  of  monkey's  teeth.  There  were 
scarcely  any  household  utensils  ;  the  place 
was  bare  with  the  exception  of  two  dirty  grass 
hammocks  hung  in  the  corners.  I  missed 
the  usual  mandioca  sheds  behind  the  house, 
with  their  surrounding  cot  ton,  cacao,  coffee, 
and  lemon  trees.  Two  or  three  young  men 
of  the  tribe  were  lounging  about  the  low 
open  doorway.  They  were  stoutly-built  fel- 
lows, but  less  well-proportioned  than  the 
semi- civilized  Indians  of  the  Lower  Amazons 
generally  are.  Their  breadth  of  chest  was 
remarkable,  and  their  arms  were  wonderfully 
thick  and  muscular.  The  legs  appeared 
short  in  proportion  to  the  trunk  ;  the  expres- 
sion of  their  countenances  was  unmistakably 
more  sullen  and  brutal,  and  the  skin  of  a 
darker  hue,  than  is  common  in  the  Brazilian 
red  man.  Before  we  left  tne  hut  an  old 
couple  came,  in  ;  the  husband  carrying  his 
paddle,  bow,  arrows,  and  harpoon,  the 
woman  bent  beneath  the  weight  of  a  large 
basket  filled  with  palm  fiuits.  The  man  was 
of  low  stature  and  had  a  wild  appearance 
from  the  long  coarse  hair  which  hung  over 
his  forehead.  Both  his  lips  were  pierced 
with  holes,  as  is  usual  with  the  older  Muras 
seen  on  the  river.  They  used  formerly  to 
wear  tusks  of  the  wild  hog  in  these  holes 
whenever  they  went  out  to  encounter  stran- 
gers or  their  enemies  in  war.  The  gloom}' 
savagery,  filth,  and  poverty  of  the  people  in 
this  place  made  me  feel  quite  melancholy, 
and  I  was  glad  to  return  to  the  canoe.  They 
offered  us  no  civilities  ;  they  did  not  even 
pass  the  ordinary  salutes,  which  all  the  semi- 
civilized  and  many  savage  Indians  proffer  on 
a  first  meeting.  The  men  persecuted  Penna 
for  cashaca,  which  they  seemed  to  consider 
the  only  good  thing  the  white  man  brings 
with  him.  As  they  had  nothing  whatever  to 
give  in  exchange,  Penna  declined  to  supply 
them.  They  followed  us  as  we  descended  to 
the  port,  becoming  very  troublesome  when 
about  a  dozen  had  collected  together.  They 
brought  their  empty  bottles  wit  a  them,  and 
promised  fish  and  turtle,  if  we  would  only 
trust  them  lirst  with  the  coveted  aguardente, 
or  oau-im,  as  they  called  it.  Penna  was  in- 
exorable :  he  ordered  the  crew  to  weigh  an- 
chor, and  the  disappointed  savages  lemained 
hooting  after  us  with  all  their  might,  from 
the  top  of  the  bank,  as  we  glided  away. 

After  leaving  Maturi  we  continued  oar 
voyage  along  the  northern  shore.  The  banks 
of  the  river  "were  of  moderate  elevation  dur- 
ing several  days'  journey  ;  the  terra  firma 
lying  far  in  the  interior,  and  the  coast  being 
either  low  land,  or  masked  with  islands  of 
alluvial  formation.  On  the  14th  we  passed 


the  upper  mouth  of  the  Parana-mirim  de; 
Eva,  an  arm  of  the  river  of  small  breadth, 
formed  by  a  straggling  island  some  ten  miles, 
in  length,  lying  parallel  to  the  northern  bank. 
On  passing  the  western  end  of  this  the  main- 
land again  appeared,  a  rather  high  rocky 
coast,  clothed  with  a  magnificent  forest  of 
rounded  outline  which  continues  hence  for 
twenty  miles  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,, 
and  forms  the  eastern  shore  of  that  river.. 
Many  houses  of  settlers,  built  at  a  consider- 
able elevation  on  the  wooded  heights,  now- 
enlivened  the  river  banks.  One  of  the  first 
objects  which  here  greeted  us  was  a  beauti- 
ful bird  we  had  not  hitherto  met  with, 
namely,  the  scarlet  and  black  tr.nager  (Rain- 
phocoalus  nigrogularis),  flocks  of  which  were 
seen  sporting  about  the  trees  on  the  edge  of 
the  water,  their  flame-colored  liveries  light- 
ing up  the  masses  of  dark-green  foliage. 

The  weather,  from  the  14th  to  the  18th, 
was  wretched  ;  it  rained  sometimes  for* 
twelve  hours  in  succession,  not  heavily,  but 
in  a  steady  drizzle,  such  as  we  are  familiar 
with  in  our  English  climate.  We  lauded  at 
several  places  on  the  coast,  Penna  to  trade  as 
usual,  and  I  to  ramble  in  the  forest  in  search 
of  birds  and  insects.  In  one  spot  the  wooded 
slope  inclosed  a  very  picturesque  scene  :  a 
brook,  flowing  through  a  ravine  in  the  high 
bank,  fell  in  many  little  cascades  to  tho 
broad  river  beneath,  its  margins  decked  out. 
with  an  infinite  variety  of  beautiful  plants. 
Wild  bananas  arched  over  the  water-course, 
and  the  trunks  of  the  trees  in  its  vicinity 
were  clothed  with  ferns,  large-leaved  species 
belonging  to  the  genus  Lygodium,  which, 
like  Osmimda,  have  their  spore-cases  collect- 
ed together  on  contracted  leaves.  On  the 
18th  we  arrived  at  a  large  fazenda  (plantation 
and  cattle  farm),  called  Jatuarana.  A  rocky- 
point  here  projects  into  the  stream,  and  as 
WB  found  it  impossible  to  stem  the  strong 
current  which  whirled  round  it,  we  crossed. 
over  to  the  southern  shore.  Canoes  in  ap- 
proaching the  Rio  Negro  generally  prefer  the 
southern  side  on  account  of  the  slackness  of 
the  current  near  the  banks.  Our  progress, 
however,  was  most  tediously  slow,  for  the 
regular  east  wind  had  now  entirely  ceased, 
and  the  vento  de  cimaor  wind  from  up  river 
having  taken  its  place,  blew  daily  for  a  few 
hours  dead  against  us.  The  weather  was 
oppressively  close,  and  every  afternoon  a, 
squall  arose,  which,  however,  as  it  came, 
from  the  right  quarter  and  blew  for  an  hour 
or  two,  was  very  welcome.  We  made  ac- 
quaintance on  this  coast  with 'a  new  insect 
pest,  the  Pium,  a  minute  fly,  two  thirds  of  a 
line  in  length,  which  here  commences  its 
reign,  and  continues  henceforward  as  a  ter- 
rible scourge  along  the  upper  river,  or  Soli- 
moens,  to  the  end  of  the  navigation  on  the 
Amazons.  It  comes  forth  only  by  day,  re- 
lieving the  mosquito  at  sunrise,  with  the 
greatest  punctuality,  and  occurs  only  near 
the  muddy  shores  of  the  stream,  not  one  ever 
being  found  in  the  shade  of  the  forest.  In 
places  where  it  is  abundant,  it  accompanies 
canoes  in  suck  dense  swarnid  as  to  resemble 


THE  NATURALIST  O* 

md  of  smoke.  It  made  its  appear- 
ance in  this  way  the  first  day  after  we 
crossed  the  river.  Before  I  wa»  aware  of  the 
presence  of  flies  I  felt  a  slight  itching  on  my 
neck,  wrist,  and  ankles,  and  on  looking  for 
the  cause  saw  a  number  of  tiny  objects  hav- 
ing a  disgusting  resemblance  to  lice,  adher- 
ing to  the  skin.  This  was  my  introduction 
to  the  much-talked-of  Phim.  On  close  ex- 
amination they  are  seen  to  be  minute  two- 
winged  insects,  with  dark-colored  body  and 
pale  legs  and  wings,  the  latter  closed  length- 
wise over  the  back.  They  alight  impercep- 
tibly, and  squatting  close,  fall  at  once  to 
Work,  stretching  forward  their  long  front 
legs,  which  are  in  constant  motion  and  seem 
to  act  as  feelers,  and  then  applying  their 
short,  broad  snouts  to  the  skin.  Their  abdo- 
mens soon  become  distended  and  red  with 
blood,  and  then,  their  thirst  satisfied,  they 
slowly  move  off,  sometimes  so  stupefied  with 
their  potations  that  they  can  scarcely  fly. 
No  pain  is  felt  while  they  are  at  work,  but 
they  each  leave  a  small  circular  raised  spot 
on  the  skin  and  a  disagreeable  irritation.  The 
latter  may  be  avoided  in  great  measure  by 
pressing  out  the  blood  which  remains  in  the 
spot ;  but  this  is  a  troublesome  task,  when  one 
has  several  hundred  punctures  in  the  course 
of  a  day.  I  took  the  trouble  to  dissect  spec- 
imens to  ascertain  the  way  in  which  the  little 
pests  operate.  The  mouth  consists  of  a  pair 
of  thick  fleshy  lips,  and  two  triangular  horny 
lancets,  answering  to  the  upper  lip  and 
tongue  of  other  insects.  This  is  applied 
closely  to  the  skin,  a  puncture  is  made  with 
.he  lancets,  and  the  blood  then  sucked 
through  between  these  into  the  oasophagus, 
the  circular  spot  which  results  coinciding 
with  the  shape  of  the  lips.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  days  the  red  spots  dry  up,  and  the  skin 
in  time  becomes  blackened  with  the  endless 
number  of  discolored  punctures  that  are 
crowded  together.  The  irritation  they  pro- 
duce is  more  acutely  felt  by  some  persons 
than  others.  I  once  travelled  with  a  middle- 
aged  Portuguese,  who  was  laid  up  for  three 
weeks  from  the  attacks  of  Pium,  his  legs 
being  swollen  to  an  enormous  size,  and  the 
punctures  aggravated  into  spreading  sores. 

A  brisk  wind  from  the  east  sprang  up  early 
in  the  morning  of  the  22d  ;  we  then  hoisted 
all  sail,  and  made  for  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Negro.  This  noble  stream  at  its  junction 
with  the  Amazons  seems,  from  its  position, 
V)  be  a  direct  continuation  of  the  main  river, 
while  the  Solimoens,  which  joins  at  an  angle 
and  is  somewhat  narrower  than  its  tributary, 
appears  to  be  a  branch  instead  of  the  main 
trunk  of  the  vast  water-system.  One  sees 
therefore  at  once  how  the  early  explorers 
came  to  give  a  separate  name  to  this  upper 
part  of  the  Amazons.  The  Brazilians  have 
lately  taken  to  applying  the  convenient  term 
Alto  Amazonas  (High  or  Upper  Amazons)  to 
the  Soliomeus,  and  it  is  probable  that  this 
will  gradually  prevail  over  the  old  name. 
The  Rio  Negro  broadens  considerably  from 
its  mouth  upward,  and  presents  the  appear- 
ance of  a  great  lake-;  its  black-dyed  waters 


THE  RIVER  AMAZONb. 


687 


having  no  current  and  seeming  to  be  dammed 
up  by  the  impetuous  flow  of  the  yellow,  tur- 
bid Solimoens,  which  here  belches  forth  a 
continuous  line  of  uprooted  trees  and  patches 
of  grass,  and  forms  a  striking  contrast  with 
its  tributary.  In  crossing  we  passed  tho 
line,  a  little  more  than  halt  way  over,  wheie 
the  waters  of  the  two  rivers  meet  and  are 
sharply  demarcated  from  each  other.  On 
reaching  the  opposite  shore  we  found  a  re- 
markable change.  AH  our  insect  pests  had 
disappeared,  as  if  by  magic,  even  from  the 
hold  of  the  canoe  :  the  turmoil  of  an  agitated, 
swiftly  flowing  river,  and  its  turn,  perpen- 
dicular, earthy  banks,  had  given  place  to 
tranquil  water  and  a  coast  indented  with  snug 
little  bays,  fringed  with  sloping  sandy 
beaches.  The  low  shore  and  vivid  light 
green  endlessly- varied  foliage,  which  pre- 
vailed on  the  south  side  of  the  Amazons, 
were  exchanged  for  a  hilly  country,  clothed 
with  a  sombre,  rounded,  and  monotonofis 
forest.  Our  tedious  voyage  now  approached 
its  termination ;  a  light  wind  carried  us 
gently  along  the  coast  to  the  city  of  Barra, 
which  lies  about  seven  or  eight  miles  within 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  We  stopped  for  an 
hour  in  a  clean  little  bay,  to  bathe  and  dress, 
before  showing  ourselves  again  among  civil- 
ized people.  The  bottom  was  visible  at  a 
depth  of  six  feet,  the  white  sand  taking  a 
brownish  tinge  from  the  stained  but  clear 
water.  In  the  evening  I  went  ashore,  and 
was  kindly  received  by  Senhor  Henriques 
Antony,  a  warm-hearted  Italian,  established 
here  in  a  high  position  as  merchant,  who  was 
the  never  failing  friend  of  stray  travellers. 
He  placed  a  couple  of  rooms  at  my  disposal, 
and  in  a  few  hours  I  was  comfortably  settled 
in  my  new  quarters,  sixty-four  day?  after 
leaving  Obydos. 

i 

I  found  at  Barra  my  companion,  Mr.  Wal- 
lace, who,  since  our  joint  Tocantins  expe- 
dition, had  been  exploring,  paitly  with  his 
brother,  lately  arrived  from  England,  the 
north  -  eastern  coast  of  Marajo,  the  river 
Capim  (a  branch  of  the  Guama,  near  Pai&), 
Monte  Alegre,  and  Santarem.  He  had  passed 
us  by  night  below  Serpa,  on  his  way  to 
Barra,  and  so  had  arrived  about  three  weeks 
before  me.  Besides  ourselves  there  were 
half  a  dozen  other  foreigners  here  congre- 
gated —  Englishmen,  Germans,  and  Amei  u 
cans — one  of  them  a  natural-history  collect- 
or, the  rest  traders  on  the  riveis.  In  the 
pleasant  society  of  these,  and  of  the  family 
of  Serihor  Henriques,  we  passed  a  delightlul 
time  ;  the  miseries  of  our  long  river  voyages 
were  soon  forgotten,  and  in  two  or  three 
weeks  we  began  to  talk  of  further  explora- 
tions. Meantime  we  had  almost  daily 
rambles  in  the  neighboring  forest.  The 
whole  surface  of  the  land,  down  to  tho 
water's  edge,  is  covered  by  the  uniform  dnrk 
green  rolling  forest,  the  cad-apoam  (convex 
woods)  of  the  Indians,  characteristic  of  the 
Rio  Negro.  This  clothes  also  the  extensive 
preas  of  low  land,  which  are  flooded  by  the 
«iver  in  the  rainy  season.  The  olive-browc 


688 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE   RIVER  AMAZONS. 


tinge  of  the  water  seems  to  be  derived  from 
the  saturation  in  it  of  the  dark  green  foliage 
during  these  annual  inundations.  The  great 
contrast  in  form  and  color  between  the  for- 
ests of  the  Rio  Negro  and  those  of  the  Ama- 
zons arises  from  the  predominance  in  each  pt 
different  families  of  plants.  On  the  main 
liver  palms  of  twenty  or  thirty  different 
species  form  a  great  proportion  of  the  mass 
of  trees,  while  on  the  Rio  Negro  they  play  a 
very  subordinate  part.  The  characteristic 
kind  in  the  latter  region  is  the  Jara  (Leopol- 
dinia  pulchra),  a  species  not  found  on  the 
margins  of  the  Amazons,  which  has  a 
scanty  head  of  fronds,  with  narrow  leaflets 
of  the  same  dark  green  hue  as  the  rest  of  the 
forest.  The  stem  is  smooth,  and  about  two 
inches  in  diameter  ;  its  height  is  not  more 
than  twelve  to  fifteen  feet ;  it  does  not,  there- 
fore, rise  among  the  masses  of  foliage  of  the 
exogenous  trees,  so  as  to  form  a  feature  in 
the  landscape,  like  the  broad-leaved  MUTU- 
rnuru  and  Urucrui,  the  slender  Assai,  the 
tall  Jauari,  and  the  fan-leaved  Muriti  of  the 
banks  jf  the  Amazons.  On  the  shores  of  the 
main  river  the  mass  of  the  forest  is  composed, 
besides  palms,  of  Leguminosse,  or  trees  of  the 
bean  family,  in  endless  variety  as  to  height, 
shape  of  foliage,  flowers,  and  fruit ;  of  silk- 
cottoii-tiees,  colossal  nut-trees  (Lecythidese), 
and  Cecropiae  ;  the  underwood  and  water- 
Iront  age  consisting  in  great  part  of  broad- 
leaveoMVIusacese,  Marantacese,  and  succulent 
£  rasses  :  all  of  which  are  of  light  shades  of 
green.  The  forests  of  the  Rio  Negro  are  al- 
most destitute  of  these  large-leaved  plants 
and  grasses,  which  give  so  rich  an  appearance 
to  the  vegetation  wherever  they  grow  ;  the 
margins  of  the  stream  being  clothed  with 
bushes  or  low  trees,  having  the  same  gloomy 
monotonous  aspect  as  the  mangroves  of  the 
shores  of  creeks  near  the  Atlantic.  The  uni- 
formly small  but  elegantly-leaved  exogenous 
trees,  which  constitute  the  mass  of  the  forest, 
consist  in  great  part  of  members  of  the 
Laurel,  Myrtle,  Bignoniaceous,  and  Rubia- 
ceous  orders.  The  soil  is  generally  a  stiff  loam 
whose  chief  component  part  is  the  Tabatinga 
clay,  which  also  forms  low  cliffs  on  the  coast 
in  eome  places,  where  it  overlies  strata  of 
coarse  sandstone.  This  kind  of  soil  and  the 
same  geological  formation  prevail,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  many  places  on  the  banks  of  the  Am- 
azons, so  that  the  great  contrast  in  the  forest 
clothing  of  the  two  rivers  caunot  arise  from 
this  cause. 

The  forest  was  very  pleasant  for  rambling, 
fn  home  directions  broad  pathways  led  down 
gentle  slopes,  through  what  one  might  fancy 
were  interminable  shrubberies  of  evergreens, 
to  moist  hollows  where  springs  of  water 
bubbled  up,  or  shallow  brooks  ran  over  their 
beds  of  clean  white  sand.  But  the  most 
beautiful  road  was  one  that  ran  through  the 
heart  of  the  forest  to  a  waterfall,  which  the 
citizens  of  Barra  consider  as  the  chief  natural 
uuriosity  of  their  neighborhood.  The  waters 
of  one  of  the  larger  rivulets  which  traverse 
the  gloomy  wilderness  here  fall  over  a  Jedge 
of  rock  aorvut  ten  te«t  lii^li.  It  is  ^~- 


cascade  itself,  but  the  noiseless  solitude,  an£ 
the  marvellous  diversity  and  richness  of  trees, 
foliage,  and  flowers,  encircling  the  water  ba- 
sin, that  form  the  attraction  of  the  place 
Families  make  picnic  excursions  to  this  spot ; 
and  the  gentlemen — it  is  said  the  ladies  also 
— spend  the  sultry  hours  of  mid- day  bathing 
in  the  cold  and  bracing  waters.  The  place 
is  classic  ground  to  the  naturalist,  from  hav- 
ing been  a  favorite  spot  with  the  celebrated 
travellers  Spix  and  Martius,  during  their  stay 
at  Barra  in  1820.  Von  Martius  was  so  much 
impressed  by  its  magical  beauty  that  he  com- 
memorated the  visit  by  making  a  sketch  of 
the  scenery  serve  as  background  in  one  of 
the  plates  of  his  great  work  on  the  palms. 

Birds  and  insects,  however,  were  scarce 
amid  these  charming  sylvan  scenes.  I  have 
often  traversed  the  whole  distance  from 
Barra  to  the  waterfall,  about  two  miles  by 
the  forest  road,  without  seeing  or  hearing  a 
bird,  or  meeting  with  so  many  as  a  score  of 
Lepidppterous  and  Coleopterous  insects.  In 
the  thinner  woods  near  the  borders  of  the 
forest  many  pretty  little  blue  and  green 
creepers  of  the  Dacnidse  group  were  daily 
seen  feeding  on  berries,  and  a  few  very  hand- 
some birds  occurred  in  the  forest.  But  the 
latter  were  so  rare  that  we  could  obtain  them 
only  by  employing  a  native  hunter,  who 
used  to  spend  a  whole  day  and  go  a  great 
distance  to  obtain  two  or  three  specimens, 
la  this  way  I  obtained,  among  others,  speci- 
mens of  the  Trogpn  pavoninus  (the  Suruqui 
graride  of  the  natives),  a  most  beautiful  creat- 
ure, having  soft  golden-green  plumage,  red 
breast,  and  an  orange-colored  beak  ;  also  the 
Ampelis  Pompadoura,  a  rich  glossy-purple 
chatterer  with  wings  of  a  snowy-white  hue. 

After  we  had  rested  some  weeks  in  Barra, 
we  arranged  our  plans  for  further  explora- 
tions in  the  interior  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Wallace  chose  the  Rio  Negro  for  his  next 
trip,  and  I  agreed  to  take  the  Solimoens.  My 
colleague  has  already  given  to  the  world  an 
account  of  his  journey  on  the  Rio  Negro,  and 
bis  adventurous  ascent  of  its  great  tributary 
the  Uapes.  I  left  Barra  for  Ega,  the  first 
town  of  any  importance  on  the  Solinioens, 
on  the  26th  of  March,  1850.  The  distance  is 
nearly  400  miles,  which  we  accomplished  in 
a  small  cuberta,  maimed  by  ten  stout  Cucama 
Indians,  in  thirty-five  days.  On  this  occa- 
sion I  spent  twelve  months  in  the  upper  re- 
gion of  the  Amazons  ;  circumstances  then 
compelled  me  to  return  to  Para.  I  revisited 
the  same  country  in  1855,  and  devoted  tluee 
years  and  a  half  to  a  fuller  exploration  of  ite 
natural  productions.  The  results  of  both 
journeys  will  be  given  together  in  subse- 
quent chapters  of  this  work  ;  in  the  mean- 
time I  will  proceed  to  give  an  account  of 
Santarem  and  the  river  Tapajos,  whoso 
neighborhoods  I  investigated  in  the  years 
1851-4. 

A  few  words  on  my  visit  to  Para  in  1851 
may  be  here  introduced.  I  descended  the 
river  from  Ega  to  the  capital,  a  distance  of 
1400  miles,  in  a  heavily-laden  schooner  be- 
longing to  a  Uader  of  tlie  former  place.  Tha 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


689 


voyage  occupied  no  less  than  twenty-nine 
days,  although  we  were  favored  by  the  pow- 
erful currents  of  the  rainy  season.  The  holcl 
of  the  vessel  was  tilled  with  turtle  oil  con- 
tained in  large  jars,  the  cabin  was  crammed 
with  Brazil-nuts,  and  a  great  pile  of  sarsa- 
parilla,  covered  with  a  thatch  of  palm-leaves, 
occupied  the  middle  of  the  deck.  We  had 
therefore  (the  master  and  two  passengers)  but 
rough  accommodation,  having  to  sleep  on 
deck,  exposed  to  the  wet  and  stormy 
weather,  under  little  toldos  or  arched  shelters, 
arranged  with  mats  of  woven  lianas  and 
maranta-leaves.  I  awoke  many  a  morning 
with  clothes  and  bedding  soaked  through 
with  the  rain.  With  the  exception,  how- 
ever, of  a  slight  cold  at  the  commencement, 
I  never  enjoyed  better  health  than  during 
this  journey.  When  the  wind  blew-  from  up 
river  or  off  the  land,  we  sped  away  at  a  great 
rate  ;  but  it  was  often  squally  from  those 
quarters,  and  then  it  was  not  safe  to  hoist  the 
sails.  The  weather  was  generally  calm,  a 
motionless  mass  of  leaden  clouds  covering 
the  sky,  and  the  broad  expanse  of  waters 
flowing  smoothly  down  with  no  other  motion 
than  the  ripple  of  the  current.  When  the 
wind  cuiue  from  below,  we  tacked  down  the 
stream  ;  sometimes  it  blew  very  strong,  and 
then  the  schooner,  having  the  wind  abeam, 
labored  through  the  waves,  shipping  often 
heavy  seas  which  washed  everything  that  was 
loose  from  one  side  of  the  deck  to  the  other. 
On  arriving  at  Para,  I  found  the  once  cheer- 
ful and  healthful  city  desolated  by  two  terri- 
ble epidemics.  The  yellow  fever,  which  vis- 
ited the  place  the  previous  year  (1850)  for  the 
first  time  since  the  discovery  of  the  country, 
still  lingered,  after  having  carried  off  nearly 
five  per  cent  of  the  population.  The  num- 
ber of  persons  who  were  attacked,  namely, 
threefourths  of  the  entire  population,  showed 
how  general  is  the  onslaught  of  an  epidemic 
on  its  first  appearance  in  a  place.  At  the 
heels  of  this  plague  came  the  small-pox.  The 
yellow  fever  had  fallen  most  severely  on  the 
whites  and  mamelucos,  the  negroes  wholly 
escaping  ;  but  the  small-pox  attacked  more 
especially  the  Indians,  negroes,  and  people 
of  mixed  color,  sparing  the  whites  almost 
entirely.and  taking  off  about  a  twentieth  part 
of  the  population  in  the  course  of  the  four 
months  of  its  stay.  I  heard  many  strange 
accounts  of  the  yellow  fever.  I  believe  Para 
was  ihe  second  port  in  Brazil  attacked  by  it. 
The  news  of  its  ravages  in  Bahia,  where  the 
epidemic  first  appeared,  arrived  some  few 
days  before  the  disease  broke  out.  The  Gov- 
ernment took  all  the  sanitary  precautions  that 
could  be  thought  of  ;  among  the  rest  was  the 
singular  one  of  firing  cannon  at  the  street 
corners,  to  purify  the  air.  Mr.  Norris,  the 
American  consul,  told  me  the  first  cases  ^t 
fever  occurred  near  the  port,  and  that  it 
spread  rapidly  and  regularly  from  house  to 
house,  along  the  streets  which  run  from  the 
waterside  to  the  suburbs,  taking  about 
twenty-four  hours  to  reach  the  end.  Some 
persons  related  that  for  several  successive 
evenings  before  the  fever  broke  out  the  at- 


mosphere was  thick,  and  that  a  body  of 
murky  vapor,  accompanied  by  a  strong 
stench,  travelled  from  street  to  street.  This 
moving  vapor  was  called  the  "  Mai  da  pcate" 
("  the  mother  or  spirit  of  the  plague") ;  and 
it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  reason  them  out 
of  the  belief  that  this  was  the  forerunner  of 
the  pestilence.  The  progress  of  the  disease 
was  very  rapid.  It  commenced  in  April,  in 
the  middle  of  the  wet  season.  In  a  few  days, 
thousands  of  persons  lay  sick,  dying,  or  dead. 
The  state  of  the  city  during  the  time  the  fever 
lasted  may  be  easily  imagined.  Toward  the 
end  of  June  it  abated,  and  very  few  cases  oc- 
curred during  the  dry  season  from  July  to 
December. 

As  I  said  before,  the  yellow  fever  still  lin- 
gered in  the  place  when  I  arrived  from  tho 
interior  in  April.  I  was  in  hopes  I  should 
escape  it,  but  was  not  so  fortunate  ;  it  seemed 
to  spare  no  new-comer.  At  the  time  I  fell  ill, 
every  medical  man  in  the  place  was  worked 
to  the  utmost  in  attending  the  victims  of  the 
other  epidemic  ;  it  was  quite  useless  to  think 
of  obtaining  their  aid,  so  I  was  obliged  to  b$ 
my  own  doctor,  as  I  had  been  in  many 
former  smart  attacks  of  fever.  I  was  seizedl 
with  shivering  arid  vomit  at  nine  o'clock, 
in  the  morning.  While  the  people  of  the 
house  went  down  to  the  town  for  the  medi- 
cines I  ordered,  I  wrapped  myself  in  a 
blanket  and  walked  sharply  to  and  fro  along 
the  veranda,  drinking  at  intervals  a  cup  of 
warm  tea,  made  of  a  bitter  herb  in  use  among 
the  natives,  called  Pajemarioba,  a  leguminous 
plant  growing  in  all  waste  places.  About  an 
hour  afterward  I  took  a  good  draught  of  a 
decoction  of  elder-blossoms  as  a  sudorific, 
and  soon  after  fell  insensible  into  my  ham- 
mock. Mr!  Phillips,  an  English  resident  with 
whom  I  was  then  lodging,  came  home  in  the 
afternoon  and  found  me  sound  asleep  and 
perspiring  famous'y.  I  did  not  wake  till 
toward  midnight,  when  I  felt  very  weak  and 
aching  in  every  bone  of  my  body.  I  then 
took  as  a  purgative  a  small  dose  of  Epsom 
salt*  and  manna.  In  forty-eight  hours  the 
fever  left  me,  and  in  eight  days  from  the  first 
attack  1  was  able  to  get  about  my  work. 
Little  else  happened  during  my  stay,  which 
need  be  recorded  here.  I  shipped  off  all  my 
collections  to  England,  and  received  thence 
a  fresh  supply  of  funds.  It  took  me  several 
weeks  to  prepare  for  my  second  and  longest 
journey  into  the  interior.  My  plan  now  was 
first  to  make  Santarem  headquarters  for  some 
time,  and  ascend  from  that  place  the  river 
Tapajos,  as  far  as  practicable.  Afterward  I 
intended  to  revisit  the  marvellous  country  of 
the  Upper  Amazons,  and  work  well  its  nat- 
ural history  at  various  stations  I  had  fixed 
upon,  from  Ega  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SANTAREM. 

Situation  of  Santarem— Manners  and  Customs  of  the 
Inhabitants— Climate— Grassy  Campos  and  Woods 
— Excursions  to  Mapirl,  Mahica,  and  Irura,  with 
Sketches  of  their  Natural  History ;  Palms,  wild 
Fruit-tree^,  Mining  Wasps,  Alaseii  Wa*ps,  Bee*, 
and  Sloths, 


690 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


already  given  a  short  account  of 
the  size,  situation,  and  general  appearance  of 
Santarem.  Although  containing  not  more 
than  2500  inhabitants,  it  is  the  most  civilized 
and  important  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the 
main  river  from  Peru  to  the  Atlantic.  The 
pretty  little  town,  or  city  as  it  is  called,  with 
Its  rows  of  tolerably  uniform  whitewashed 
and  red-tiled  houses,  surrounded  by  green 
gardens  and  woods,  stands  on  gently  sloping 
ground  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Tapajos, 
close  to  its  point  of  junction  with  the  Ama- 
zons. A  small  eminence  on  which  a  fort  has 
been  erected,  but  which  is  now  in  a  dilapidat- 
ed condition,  overlooks  the  streets,  and  forms 
the  eastern  limit  of  the  mouth  of  the  tribu- 
tary. The  Tapajos  at  Santarem  is  contract- 
tut  to  a  breadth  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  by 
un  accretion  of  low  alluvial  land,  which 
f  ,rms  a  kind  of  delta  on  the  western  side  ; 
fifteen  miles  further  up  the  river  is  seen  at 
its  full  width  of  ten  or  a  dozen  miles,  and  the 
magnificent  hilly  country  through  which  it 
flows  from  the  south,  is  then  visible  on  both 
shores.  This  high  laud,  which  appears  to  be 
a  continuation  of  the  central  table-lands  of 
Brazil,  stretches  almost  without  interruption 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  down  to  its 
mouth  at  Santarem.  The  scenery,  as  well 
us  the  soil,  vegetation,  and  animal  tenants  of 
this  region,  are  widely  different  from  those 
of  the^flat  and  uniform  country  which  bor- 
ders the  Amazons  along  most  part  of  its 
course.  After  travelling  week  after  week 
on  the  main  river,  the  aspect  of  Santarem, 
with  its  broad  white  sandy  beach,  limpid 
dark-green  waters,  and  line  of  picturesque 
'hills  rising  behind  over  the  fringe  of  green 
lorest,  affords  an  agreeable  surprise.  On  the 
main  Amazons  the  prospect  is  monotonous 
unless  the  vessel  runs  near  the  shore,  when 
Ihe  wonderful  diversity  and  beauty  of  the 
vegetation  afford  constant  entertainment. 
Otherwise,  the  unvaried,  broad  yellow 
stream,  and  the  long  low  line  of  forest,  which 
dwindles  away  in  a  broken  line  of  trees  on 
the  sea-like  horizon,  and  is  renewed  reach 
after  reach,  as  the  voyager  advances,  weary 
by  their  uniformity. 

I  arrived  at  Santarem  on  my  second  jour- 
ney into  the  interior,  in  November,  1851, 
and  made  it  my  head-quarters  for  a  period, 
as  it  tuined  out,  of  three  years  and  a  half . 
During  this  time  I  made,  in  pursuance  of 
the  plan  I  bad  fiamed,  many  excursions  up 
the  Tapajos,  p.-nd  to  other  places  of  interest 
in  the  surioundmg  region.  On  landing,  I 
found  no  d  fflculty  in  hiring  a  suitable  house 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  place.  It  was  pleas- 
antly situated  near  the  beach,  going  toward 
the  aldeia  or  Indian  part  of  the  town.  The 
ground  sloped  from  the  back  premises  down 
to  the  waterside,  and  my  little  raised  veran- 
da overlooked  a  beautiful  flower-garden,  a 
great  rarity  in  this  country,  which  belonged 
to  the  neighbors.  The  house  contained  only 
three  rooms,  one  with  brick  and  two  with 
boarded  floors.  It  was  substantially  built, 
like  all  the  belter  sort  of  houses  in  'Santa- 


rem, and  had  a  stuccoed  front.  The  kitch- 
en, as  is  usual,  formed  an  outhouse  placed  a 
few  yards  distant  from  the  other  rooms. 
The  rent  was  12,000  reis,  or  about  twenty- 
seven  shillings  a  month.  In  this  country  a 
tenant  has  no  extra  payments  to  make  ;  the 
owners  of  house  property  pay  a  diziino  or 
tithe,  to  the  "  collectoria  geral,"  or  general 
treasury,  but  with  this  the  occupier  of  course 
has  nothing  to  do.  In  engaging  servants  I 
had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with  a  free 
mulatto,  an  industrious  and  trustworthy 
young  fellow,  named  Jose,  willing  to  arrange 
with  me  ;  the  people  of  his  family  cooking 
for  us,  while  he  assisted  me  in  collecting  ;  he 
proved  of  the  greatest  service  in  the  different 
excursions  we  subsequently  made.  Servants 
of  any  kind  were  almost  impossible  to  be  ob- 
tained at  Santarem,  free  people  being  too 
proud  to  hire  themselves,  and  slaves  too  few 
and  valuable  to  their  masters,  to  be  let  out 
to  others.  These  mat  ters  arranged,  the  house 
put  in  order,  and  a  rude  table,  with  a  few 
chairs,  bought  or  borrowed  to  furnish  the 
house  with,  I  was  ready  in  three  or  four 
days  to  commence  my  natural-htetory  explor- 
ations in  the  neighborhood. 

Santarem  is  a  pleasant  place  to  live  in,  irre- 
spective of  its  society.  There  are  no  insect 
pests,  mosquito,  pium,  sand-fly,  or  motuca. 
The  climate  is  glorious  ;  during  six  months 
of  the  year,  from  August  to  February,  very 
little  rain  falls,  and  the  sky  is  cloudless  for 
weeks  together,  the  fresh  breezes  from  the 
sea,  nearly  400  miles  distant,  moderating  the 
great  heat  of  the  sun.  The  wind  is  some- 
times so  strong  for  days  together  that  it  is 
difficult  to  make  way  against  it  in  walking 
along  the  streets,  and  it  enters  the  open  win- 
dows and  doors  of  houses,  scattering  loose 
clothing  and  papers  in  all  directions.  The 
place  is  considered  healthy,  but  at  the 
changes  of  season  severe  colds  and  ophthal- 
mia are  prevalent.  I  found  three  English- 
men living  here,  who  had  resided  many 
years  in  the  town  or  its  neighborhood,  and 
who  still  retained  their  florid  complexions ; 
the  plump  and  fresh  appearance  of  many  of 
the  middle-aged  Santurem  ladies  also  bore 
testimony  to  the  healthf  illness  of  the  climate. 
The  streets  are  always  clean  and  dry,  even 
in  the  height  of  the  wet  season  ;  good  order 
is  always  kept,  and  the  place  pretty  well 
supplied  with  provisions.  Very  good  bread 
was  hawked  round  the  town  every  morning, 
with  milk,  and  a  great  variety  of  fruits  and 
vegetables.  Among  the  fruits  there  was  a 
kind  called  atta,  which  I  did  not  see  in  any 
other  part  of  the  country.  It  belongs  to  the 
Anonaceous  order,  and  the  tree  which  pro 
duces  it  grows  apparently  wild  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Santarem.  It  is  a  little  larger 
than  a  good-sized  orange,  and  the  rind, 
which  incloses  a  mass  of  rich  custardy  pulp, 
is  scaled  like  the  pineapple,  but  green  when 
ripe,  and  mcrusted  on  the  inside  with  sugar. 
To  finish  this  account  of  the  advantages  of 
Santarem,  the  delicious  bathing  in  the  clear 
waters  of  the  Tapajos  may  be  mentioned. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


691 


There  is  here  no  fear  of  alligators.  When 
the  east  wind  blows,  a  long  swell  rolls  in  on 
the  clean  sandy  beach,  and  the  bath  is  most 
exhilarating. 

The  country  around  Santarem  is  not 
clothed  with  dense  and  lofty  forest,  like  the 
rest  of  the  great  humid  river  plain  of  the 
Amazons.  It  is  a  campo  region  ;  a  slightly 
elevated  and  undulating  tract  of  land,  wooded 
only  in  patches,  or  with  single  scattered 
trees.  A  good  deal  of  the  country  on  the 
borders  of  the  Tapajos,  which  flows  from 
the  great  campo  area  of  Interior  Brazil,  is  of 
this  description.  It  is  on  this  account  that  I 
consider  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  toward 
its  mouth,  to  be  a  northern  prolongation  of 
the  continental  land,  and  not  a  portion  of  the 
alluvial  flats  of  the  Amazons.  The  soil  is  a 
coarse  gritty  sand  ;  the  substratum,  which  is 
visible  in  some  places,  consisting  of  sandstone 
conglomerate  probably  of  the  same  formation 
as  that  which  underlies  the  Tabatinga  clay  in 
other  parts  of  the  river  valley.  The  surface 
is  carpeted  with  slender  hairy  grasses,  unfit 
for  pasture,  growing  to  a  uniform  height  of 
about  a  foot.  The  patches  of  wood  look  like 
copses  in  the  middle  of  green  meadows  ;  they 
are  called  by  the  natives  "  ilhas  de  mato, "  or 
islands  of  jungle  ;  the  name  being,  no  doubt, 
suggested  by  their  compactness  of  outline, 
neatly  demarcated  in  insular  form  from  the 
smooth  carpet  of  grass  around  them.  They 
are  composed  of  a  great  variety  of  trees, 
loaded  with  succulent  parasites,  and  lashed 
together  by  woody  climbers  like  the  forest  in 
other  parts.  A  narrow  belt  of  dense  wood, 
similar  in  character  to  these  ilhas,  and  like 
them  sharply  limited  along  its  borders,  runs 
everywhere  parallel  and  close  to  the  river. 
In  crossing  the  campo,  the  path  from  the 
town  ascends  a  little  for  a  mile  or  two,  pass- 
ing through  this  marginal  strip  of  wood  ; 
the  grassy  land  then  slopes  gradually  to  a 
broad  valley,  watered  by  rivulets,  whose 
banks  are  clothed  with  lofty  and  luxuriant 
forest.  Beyond  this,  a  range  of  hills  extends 

;  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  toward  the  yet 
untrodden  interior.  Some  of  these  hills  are 
long  ridges,  wooded  or  bare  ;  others  are  iso- 
lated conical  peaks,  rising  abruptly  from 
the  valley.  The  highest  are  probably  not 
more  than  a  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  river.  One  remarkable  hill,  the  Serra  de 
Muruaru,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Saiitarem, 
which  terminates  the  prospect  to  the  south, 
is  of  the  same  truncated  pyramidal  form  as 
the  range  of  hPls  near  Almeyrim.  Complete 
solitude  reigns  over  the  whole  of  this  stretch 
of  beautiful  country.  The  inhabitants  of 
Santarem- know  nothing  of  the  interior,  and 
seem  to  feel  little  curiosity  concerning  it.  A 
few  tracks  from  the  town  across  the  campo 
lead  to  some  small  clearings  four  or  five 
miles  off,  belonging  to  the  poorer  inhabitants 
of  the  place  ;  but,  excepting  these,  there  are 
no  roads,  or  signs  of  the  proximity  of  a  civil- 
ized settlement. 

The  appearance  of  the  campus  changes 
yery  much  according  to  the  season.  There 

-is    not    that  grand    uniformity    of    aspect 


throughout  the  year  which  is  observed  in  the 
virgin  forest,  and  which  makes  a  deeper 
impression  on  the  naturalist  the  longer  he  re. 
mains  in  this  country.  The  seasons  in  this 
part  of  the  Amazons  region  are  sharply  con- 
trasted, but  the  difference  is  not  so  great  as 
in  some  tropical  countries,  where,  during 
the  dry  monsoon,  insects  and  reptiles  go  into 
a  summer  sleep,  and  the  trees  simultaneously 
shed  their  leaves.  As  the  dry  season  aa- 
vances  (August,  September),  the  grass  on  the 
campos  withers,  and  the  shrubby  vegetation 
near  the  town  becomes  a  mass  of  parched 
yellow  stubble.  The  period,  however,  is  not 
one  of  general  orpidity  or  repose  for  animal 
or  vegetable  life.  Birds  certainly  are  not  so 
numerous  as  in  the  wet  season,  but  some 
kinds  remain  and  lay  their  eggs  at  this  time 
— for  instance,  the  ground  doves  (Chamaspe- 
lia).  The  trees  retain  their  verdure  through- 
out, and  many  of  them  flower  in  the  dry 
months.  Lizards  do  not  become  torpid,  and 
insects  are  seen  both  in  the  larva  and  the  per- 
feet  states,  showing  that  the  aridity  of  the 
climate  has  not  a  general  influence  on  the  de- 
velopment of  the  species.  Some  kinds  of  but- 
terflies, especially  the  little  hair-streaks 
(Theclse),  whose  caterpillars  feed  on  the  trees, 
make  their  appearance  only  when  the  dry 
season  is  at  its  height.  The  land  molluscs 
of  the  district  are  the  only  animals  which 
sestivate  ;  they  are  found  in  clusters,  Bulimi 
and  Helices,  concealed  in  hollow  trees,  the 
moutha  of  their  shells  closed  by  a  film  of 
mucus.  The  fine  weather  breaks  up  often 
with  great  suddenness  about  the  beginning 
of  February.  Violent  squalls  from  the  west, 
or  the  opposite  direction  to  the  trade-wind, 
then  occur.  They  give  very  little  warning, 
ana  the  first  generally  catches  the  people  un- 
prepared. They  fall  in  the  night,  and  blow- 
ing directly  into  the  harbor,  with  the  first 
gust  sweep  all  vessels  from  their  anchorage  ; 
in  a  few  minutes  a  mass  of  canoes,  large  and 
small,  including  schooners  of  fifty  tons 
burden,  are  clashing  together,  pell-mell,  on 
the  beach.  I  have  reason  to  remember  these 
storms,  for  I  was  once  caught  in  one  myself, 
while  crossing  the  river  in  an  undecked  boat, 
about  a  day's  journey  from  Santarem.  They 
are  accompanied  with  terrific  electric  explo- 
sions, the  sharp  claps  of  thunder  falling  al- 
most simultaneously  with  the  blinding  flashes 
of  lightning.  Torrents  ol  rain  follow  the  first 
outbreak  ;  the  wind  then  gradually  abates, 
and  the  rain  subsides  into  a  steady  drizzle, 
which  continues  often  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  succeeding  day.  After  a  week  or  two  of 
showery  weather  the  aspect  of  the  country  is 
completely  changed.  The  parched  ground 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Santarem  breads  out, 
so  to  speak,  in  a  rash  of  greenery  :  the  dusty, 
languishing  trees  gain,  without  having  shed 
their  old  leaves,  a  new  clothing  of  tender 
green  foliage  ;  a  wonderful  variety  of  quick 
growing  leguminous  plants  spring  up,  and 
leafy  creepers  overrun  the  ground,  thebushef, 
and  the  trunks  of  trees.  One  is  reminded  of 
the  sudden  advent  of  spring  after  a  few 
showers  in  northern  climates  ;  I  was 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  YiLE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


the  more  struck  by  it  as  nothing  similar  is 
witnessed  in  the  virgin  forests  among  which 
I  had  passed  the  four  years  previous  to  my 
stay  in  this  part.  The  grass  on  the  campos 
is  renewed,  and  many  of  the  campo  trees, 
especially  the  myrtles,  which  grow  abun- 
dantly in  one  portion  of  the  district,  begin  to 
flower,  attracting  by  the  fragrance  of  their 
blossoms  a  great  number  and  variety  of  in- 
sects, more  particularly  Coleoptera.  Many 
kinds  of  birds,  parrots,  toucans,  and  barbels, 
which  live  habitually  in  the  forest,  then  visit 
the  open  places.  A  few  weeks  of  compara- 
tively dry  weather  generally  intervene  in 
March,  after  a  month  or  two  of  rain.  The 
heaviest  rains  fall  in  April,  May,  and  June  ; 
they  come  in  a  succession  of  showers,  with 
sunny  gleamy  weather  in  the  intervals.  June 
and  July  are  the  months  when  the  leafy  lux- 
uriance of  the  campos,  and  the  activity  of 
life,  are  at  their  highest.  Most  birds  have 
then  completed  their  moulting,  which  ex 
tends  over  the  period  from  February  to  May. 
The  flowering  shrubs  are  then  mostly  m 
bloom,  and  numberless  kinds  of  Dipterous 
and  Hymenopterous  insects  appear  simulta- 
neously with  the  flowers.  This  season 
might  be  considered  the  equivalent  of  sum- 
mer in  temperate  climates,  as  the  bursting 
forth  of  the  foliage  in  February  represents 
the  spring  ;  but  under  the  equator  there  is  not 
that  simultaneous  march  in  the  annual  life  of 
an'mals  and  plants  which  we  see  in  high  lati- 
tudes ;  some  species,  it  is  true,  are  dependent 
upon  others  in  their  periodical  acts  of  life,  and 
go  hand-in-hand  with  them,  but  they  are  not 
all  simultaneously  and  similarly  affected  by 
^he  physical  changes  of  the  seasons. 

I  will  now  give  an  account  of  some  of  my 
favorite  collecting  places  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Santarem,  incorporating  with  the  descrip- 
tion a  few  of  the  more  interesting  observa- 
tions made  on  the  natural  history  "of  the  lo- 
calities. To  the  west  of  the  town  there  was 
d  pleasant  path  along  the  beach  to  a  little 
bay,  callled  Mapiri,  about  five  miles  within 
the  mouth  of  the  Tapajos.  The  road  was 
practicable  only  in  the  dry  season.  The  river 
at  Santarem  rises  on  the  average  about  thirty 
feet,  varying  in  different  years  about  ten 
feet  ;  so  that  in  the  four  months,  from  April 
to  July,  the  water  conies  up  to  the  edge  of 
the  marginal^  belt  of  wood  already  spoken  of. 
This  Mapiri  excursion  was  most  pleasant 
and  profitable  in  the  months  from  January 
to  March,  before  the  rains  became  too 
continuous.  The  sandy  beach  beyond 
the  town  is  very  irregular  ;  in  some  places 
forming  long  spits  on  which,  when  the 
east  wind  is  blowing,  the  waves  break 
in  a  line  of  foam  ;  at  others  receding  to 
shape  out  quiet  little  bays  and  pools.  On 
the  outskirts  of  the  town  a  few  scattered  huls 
of  Indians  and  colored  people  are  passed, 
prettily  situated  on  the  margin  of  the  while 
beach, with  a  background  of  glorious  foliage  ; 
the  cabin  of  the  pure-blood  Indian  being  dis- 
tinguished from  the  mud  hovels  of  the  rn-  • 
negroes  and  mulattoes  by  its  light  cou^u^ys^ 


tion,  half  of  it  being  an  open  shed,,  where  tne 
dusky  tenants  are  seen  at  all  hours  of  tnev 
day  lounging  in  their    open-meshed  grass;; 
hammocks.     About  two  miles  on  the  road 
we  come  to  a  series  of  shallow  pools,  called 
the  Laguinhos,  which  are  connected  with  th  ' 
river  in  the  wet  season,  but  separated  from 
it  at  other  times  by  a  high    bank  of  sand 
topped  with  bushes.     There  is  a  break  here 
in  the  fringe  of  wood,  and  a  glimpse  is  ob- 
tained   of    the  grassy  campo.      When  tlrj . 
waters  have  risen  to  the  level  of  the  pools, 
this  place  is   frequented  by  many  kinds  of 
wading  birds.      Snow-white  egrets  of  two 
species  stand  about  themargius.of  the  wai  -r, 
and  dusky-striped  herons  may  be  seen  halt* 
hidden  under  the  shade  of  the  bushes.     The 
pools  are  covered  with  a  small  kind  of  water- 
lily,   and  surrounded  by    a    dense  thicket. 
Among  the  birds  which  inhabit  this  spot  is  . 
the  rosy-breasted  Troupial  (Trupialis  Guian- 
ensis),  a  bird  resembling  our  starling  in  size 
and  habits,  and  not  unlike  it  in  color,  with 
the  exception  of  the  rich  rosy  vest.     The. 
water  at  this  time  of  the  year  overflows  a 
larare    level  tract  of    campo  bordering   the 
pools,  and  the  Troupials  come  to  feed  on  the 
larvae  of  insects  which  then  abound  in  the 
moist  soil. 

Beyond  the  Laguinhos  there  succeeds  a 
tract  of  level  beach,  covered  with  trees 
which  form  a  beautiful  grove.  About  tha 
month  of  April,  when  the  water  rises  to  this 
level,  the  trees  are  covered  with  blossom 
and  a  handsome  orchid,  an  Epidendron,  with 
large  white  flowers,  which  clothes  thickly 
the  trunks  is  profusely  in  bloom.  Several 
kinds  of  kingfisher  resort  to  the  place  :  four 
species  may  be  seen  within  a  small  space  : 
the  largest  as  big  as  a  crow,  of  a  mottled-gray 
hue.  and  with  an  enormous  beak  ;  the  smallest 
not  larger  than  a  sparrovr.  The  large  one 
makes  its  nest  in  clay  cliffs,  three  or  four 
milts  distant  from  this  place.  None  of  the 
kingfishers  are  so  brilliant  in  color  as  our 
English  species.  The  blossoms  on  the  trees 
attract  two  or  three  species  of  humming-birds, 
the  most  conspicuous  of  which  is  a  large 
swallow-tailed  kind  (Eupetomena  macroura),  . 
with  a  brilliant  livery  of  emerald  green  an  1 
steel  blue.  I  noticed  that  it  did  not  remain 
so  long  pcised  in  the  air  before  the  flowers 
as  the  other  smaller  species  ;  it  perched  more 
frequently,  a-ud  sometimes  darted  after  small 
insects  on  the  wing.  Emerging  from  the 
grove  there  is  a  long  stretch  of  sandy  lKjach  ; 
the  land  is  high  and  rocky,  and  the  belt,  of 
wood  which  skirts  the  river  banks  is  nmcD 
broader  than  it  is  elsewhere.  At  length, 
after  rounding  a  projecting  bluff,  the  bay  ot 
Mapiri  is  reached.  The  river  view  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  Tapajos :  the  shores  are 
wooded,  and  on  the  opposite  side  is  a  line  of 
clay  cliffs,  with  hills  in  the  background 
clothed  with  a  rolling  forest.  A  long  spit  of 
sand  extends  into  mid-river,  beyond  which. 
is  an  immense  expanse  of  dark  water,  the 
further  shore  of  the  Tapajos  being  barely 
visible  as  a  thin  gray  line  of  trees  on  the 
The  transparency  of  air  and  water 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


'.In  the  dry  season  when  the  brisk  east  wind 
is  blowing,  and  the  sharpness  of  outline  of 
hills,  woods,  and  sandy  beaches,  give  a  great 
charm  to  this  spot. 


While  resting  in  the  shade  during  the  great 
heat  of  the  early  hours  of  afternoon,  I  used 
to  find  amusement  in  watching  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  sund  wasps.  A  small  pale  green 
kind  of  Bembex  (Bembex  ciliata)  was  plenti- 
ful near  the  bay  of  Mapiri.  When  they  are 
at  work  a  number  of  little  jets  of  sand  are 
seen  shouting  over  the  surface  of  the  sloping 
banks.  The  little  miners  excavate  with  their 
fore  feet,  which  are  strongly  built  and  fur- 
nished with  a  fringe  of  stiff  bristles  ;  they 
work  with  wonderful  rapidity,  and  the  sand 
thrown  out  beneath  their  bodies  issues  in 
continuous  streams.  They  are  solitary  wasps, 
each  female  working  on  her  own  account. 
After  making  a  gallery  two  or  three  inches 
in  length,  in  a  slanting  direction  from  the 
surface,  the  owner  backs  out  and  takes  a  few 
turns  round  the  orifice,  apparently  to  see 
whether  it  is  well  made,  but  in  reality,  I  be- 
lieve, to  take  note  of  the  locality,  that  she 
may  find  it  again.  This  done  the  busy  work- 
woman flies  away  ;  but  returns,  after  an  ab- 
5  sence  varying  in  different  cases  from  a  few 
minutes  to  an  hour  or  more,  with  a  fly  in  her 
grasp,  with  which  she  re  enters  her  mine. 
On  again  emerging  the  entrance  is  carefully 
closed  with  sand.  During  this  interval  she 
has  laid  an  egg  on  the  body  of  the  fly,  which 
she  had  previously  benumbed  with  her  sting, 
and  which  is  to  serve  as  food  for  the  soft 
footless  grub  soon  to  be  hatched  from  the 
egg.  From  what  I  could  make  out  the 
Bembex  makes  a  fresh  excavation  for  every 
egg  to  be  deposited  ;  e.t  least,  in  two  or  three 
of  the  galleries  which  I  opened  there  was 
only  one  fly  inclosed. 

I  have  said  that  the  Bembc^  on  leaving 
her  mine  took  note  of  the  locality :  this 
seemed  to  be  the  explanation  of  the  short  de- 
lay previous  to  her  taking  flight  ;  on  rising 
^in  the  air,  also,  the  insects  generally  flew 
round  over  the  place  before  making  straight 
off.  Another  nearly  allied  but  much  larger 
species,  the  Monedula  signata,  whose  habits 
I  observed  on  the  banks  of  the  Upper  Ama- 
zons,  sometimes  excavates  its  mine  solitarily 
on  sand- banks  recently  laid  bare  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  river,  and  closes  the  orifice  before 
going  in  search  of  prey.  In  these  cases  the 
insect  has  to  make  a  j  jurney  of  at  least  half 
a  mile  to  procure  the  kind  of  fly,  the  Motuca 
(Madrus  lepidotus),  with  which  it  provisions 
its  cell.  I  often  noticed  it  to  take  a  few 
turns  in  the  air  round  the  place  before  start- 
ing ;  on  its  return  it  made  without  hesitation 
straight  for  the  closed  mouth  of  the  mine,  i  I 
was  convinced  that  the  insects  noted  the  bear- 
ings of  their  nests,  and  the  direction  Ihey 
took  in  flying  from  them.  The  proceeding 
in  this  and  similar  cases  (I  have  read  of  some- 
thing analogous  having  been  noticed  in  hive 
bees)  seems  to  be  a  mental  act  of  the  same 
nature  as  that  which' takes  place  in  ourselves 


when  recognizing  a  locality.    The  senses, 
however,  must  be  immeasurably  more  keen) 
and  the  mental  operation  much  more  certain, 
in  them  than  they  are  in  man  ;  for  to  my  eye 
there  was  absolutely  no  land-mark  on  the 
even  surface  of  sand  which  could  serve  as 
guide,  and  the  borders  of  the  forest  were  not 
nearer  than  half  a  mile.     The  action  of  the 
wasp  would  be  said  to  be  instinctive  ;  but  it 
seems  plain  that  the  instinct  is  no  mysterious 
and  unintelligible  agent,  but  a  mental  process 
in  each  individual,  differing  from  the  same 
in  man  only  by  its  unerring  certainty.     The 
mind  of  the  insect  appears  to  be  so  constitut- 
ed that  the  impression  of  external  objects,  or 
the  want  felt,  causes  it  to  act  with  a  precision 
which  seems  to  us  like  that  of  a  machine 
constructed  to  move  in  a  certain  given  away. 
I  have  noticed   in  Indian  boys  a  sense  of 
locality  almost  as  keen  as  that  possessed  by 
the  sand- wasp.     An  old  Portuguese  and  my- 
self, accompanied  by  a  young  lad  about  ten 
years  of  age,  were  once  lost  in  the  forest  in 
a  most  solitary  place  on  the  banks  of  the 
main  river.     Our  case  seemed  hopeless,  and 
it  did  not  for  some  time  occur  to  us  to  con- 
sult our  little  companion,  who  had  been  play- 
ing with  his  bow  and  arrow  all  the  way 
while  we  were  hunting,  apparently  taking  no 
note  of  the  route.     When  asked,  however, 
he  pointed  out,  in  a  moment,  the  right  direc- 
tion of  our  canoe.     He  could  not  explain  how 
he  knew  ;  I  believe  he  had  noted  the  course 
we  had  taken  almost  unconsciously.     The 
sense  of  locality  in  his  case  seemed  instinctive. 
The  Monedula  signata  is  a  good  friend   to 
travellers   in    those  parts  of  the  Amazons 
which    are    infested    by    the     bloodthirsty 
Motuea.     I  first  noticed  its  habit  of  preying 
on  this  fly  one  day  when  we  landed  to  make 
our  fire  and  dine  on  the  borders  of  the  forest 
adjoining  a  sand-bank.     The  insect  is  as  large 
as  a  hornet,  and  has  a  most  waspish  appear- 
ance.    I  was  rather  startled  when  one  out  of 
the  flock  which  was  hovering  about  us  flew 
straight  at  my  face  :  it  had  espied  a  Motuca 
on  my  neck,  and  was  thus  pouncing  upon  it. 
It  seizes  the  fly  not  with  its  jaws,  but  with 
its  fore  and  middle  feet,   and  carries  it  off 
tightly  held  to  its  breast.      Wherever  the 
traveller  lands  on  the  Upper  Amazons  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  sand-bank  he  is  sure  to  be 
attended  by  one  or  more  of  these  useful  ver- 
min killers. 

The  bay  of  Mapiri  was  the  limit  of  my  day 
excursions  by  the  river-side,  to  the  west  of 
Santarern.  A  person  may  travel,  however, 
on  foot,  as  Indians  frequently  do,  in  the  dry 
season  for  fifty  or  sixty  miles  along  the  broad 
clean  sandy  beaches  of  the  Tapajos.  The 
only  obstacles  are  the  rivulets,  mast  of  which 
are  fordabfe  when  the  waters  are  low  To 
the  east  my  rambles  extended  to  the  banks  of 
the  Mahica  inlet.  This  enters  the  Amazons 
about  three  miles  below  Suntarern,  where  the 
clear  stream  of  the  Tapajos  begins  to  be  dis- 
colored by  the  turbid  waters  of  the  main 
river.  The  Mahica  has  a  broad  margin  of 
rich  level  pasture,  limited  on  each  side  by  the 


694 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


straight,  tall  hedge  of  forest.  On  the  Santa- 
rem  side  it  is  skirted  by  high  wooded  ridges. 
A  landscape  of  this  description  always  pro- 
duced in  me  an  impression  of  sadness  and 
loneliness,  which  the  giant  virgin  forests  that 
closely  hedge  in  most  of  the  by-waters  of  the 
Amazons  never  created.  The  pastures  are 
destitute  of  flowers,  and  also  of  animal  life, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  small  plain- 
colored  birds  and  solitary  Caracara  eagles, 
whining  from  the  topmost  branches  of  dead 
trees  on  the  forest  borders.  A  few  settlers 
have  built  their  palm-thatched  and  mud- 
walled  huts  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahica,  and 
occupy  themselves  chiefly  in  tending  small 
herds  of  cattle.  They  seemed  to  be  all 
wretchedly  poor.  The  oxen,  however, 
though  small,  were  sleek  and  tat,  and  the 
district  was  most  promising  for  agricultural 
and  pastoral  employments.  In  the  wet  sea- 
son the  waters  gradually  rise  and  cover  the 
meadows,  but  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  the 
removal  of  the  cattle  to  higher  ground.  The 
lazy  and  ignorant  people  seem  totally  unable 
to  profit  by  these  advantages.  The  houses 
have  no  gardens  or  plantations  near  them. 
I  was  told  it  was  useless  to  plant  anything, 
because  the  cattle  devoured  the  young  shoots. 
In  this  country  grazing  and  planting  are  very 
rarely  carried  on  together,  for  the  people 
seem  to  have  no  notion  of  inclosing  patches 
of  ground  for  cultivation.  They  say  it  is  too 
much  trouble  to  make  inclosures.  The  con- 
struction of  a  durable  fence  is  certainly  8 
difficult  matter,  for  it  is  only  two  or  three 
kinds  of  tree  which  will  serve  the  purpose 
in  being  free  from  the  attacks  of  insects,  and 
these  are  scattered  far  and  wide  through  the 
woods. 

Although  the  meadows  were  unproductive 
ground  to  a  naturalist,  the  woods  on  their 
borders  teemed  with  life  ;  the  number  and 
variety  of  curious  insects  of  all  orders  which 
occurred  here  was  quite  wonderful.  The 
•belt  of  forest  was  intersected  by  numerous 
pathways  leading  from  one  settler's  house  to 
another.  The  ground  was  moist,  but  the 
trees  were  not  so  lofty  or  their  crowns  so 
densely  packed  together  as  in  other  parts  ; 
the  sun's  light  and  heat  therefore  had  freer 
access  to  the  soil,  and  the  underwood  was 
much  more  diversified  than  in  the  virgin 
forest.  I  never  saw  so  many  kinds  of  dwarf 
palms  together  as  here ;  pretty  miniature 
species  ;  some  not  more  than  five  feet  high, 
and  bearing  little  clusters  of  round  fruit  not 
larger  than  a  good  bunch  of  currants.  A 
few  of  the  forest  trees  had  the  size  and 
strongly-branched  figures  of  our  oaks,  and  a 
similar  bark.  One  noble  palm  grew  here  in 
great  abundance,  and  gave  a  distinctive  char- 
acter to  the  district.  This  was  the-CEnocar- 
pus  distichus,  one  of  the  kinds  called  Bacaba 
by  the  natives.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  forty 
to  fifty  feet.  The  crovrn  is  of  a  lustrous 
dark-green  color,  and  of  a  singularly  flattened 
or  compressed  shape  ;  the  leaves  being  ar- 
rangedjon  each  side  in  nearly  the  same  plane. 
"When  I  first  saw  this  tree  on  the  campus, 
Where  the  east  wind  blows  with  great  i^ice 


Eight  and  day  for  several  months,  I  thought 
the  shape  of  the  crown  was  due  to  the  leave* - 
being  prevented  from  radiating  equally  by 
the  constant  action  of  the  breezes.  But  the 
plane  of  growth  is  nat  always  in  the  direction 
of  the  wind,  and  the  crowu  has  the  same 
shape  when  the  tree  grows  in  the  sheltered 
•woods.  The  fruit  of  this  fine  palm  ripens 
toward  the  end  of  the  year,  and  is  much  es- 
teemed by  the  natives^  who  manufacture  a 
pleasant  drink  from  it  similar  to  the  assai  de- 
scribed in  a  former  chapter,  by  rubbing  off 
the  coat  of  pulp  front  the  nuts,  and  mixing 
it  with  water.  A  bunch  of  fruit  weighs 
thirty  or  forty  pounds.  The  beverage  has  a. 
milky  appearance,  and  an  agreeable  nutty 
flavor.  The  tree  is  very  difficult  to  climb, 
on  account  of  the  smoothness  of  its  stem  ; 
consequently  the  natives,  whenever  they 
want  a  bunch  c  f  fruit  for  a  bowl  of  Bacaba, 
cut  down  and  thus  destroy  a  tree  which  has 
taken  a  score  or  two  of  years  to  grr-*,  in 
order  to  get  at  it. 

Iri  the  lower  part  of  the  Mahica  w^ods, 
toward  the  river,  there  is  a  bed  of  stiff  write 
clay,  which  supplies  the  people  of  Santarem 
with  material  for  the  manufacture  of  coarse 
pottery  and  cooking  utensils  ;  all  the  kettles, 
saucepans,  mandioca  ovens,  coffee  -  pots, 
washing-vessels,  and  so  forth,  of  the  poorer 
classes  throughout  the  country,  are  made  of 
this  same  plastic  clay,  which  occurs  at  short 
intervals  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  Ama- 
zons valley,  from  the  neighborhood  of  Para 
to  within  the  Peruvian  borders,  and  forms 
part  of  the  great  Tabatinga  marl  deposit. 
To  enable  the  vessels  to  stand  the  fire  the 
bark  of  a  certain  tree,  called  Caraipe,  is 
burned  and  mixed  with  the  clay,  which  gives 
tenacity  to  the  ware.  Caraipe  is  an  article  of 
commerce,  being  sold,  packed  in  baskets,  at 
vhe  shops  in  most  of  the  towns.  The  shallow 
pits,  excavated  in  the  marly  soil  at  Mahica, 
were  very  attractive  to  many  kinds  of  mason 
bees  and  wasps,  who  made  use  of  the  cla}r  to 
build  their  nests  with.  So  that  we  have  here 
another  example  of  the  curious  analogy  that 
exists  between  the  arts  of  insects  and  these 
of  man.  I  spent  many  an  hour  watching 
•their  proceedings  :  a  short  account  of  the 
habits  of  some  of  these  busy  creatures  may 
be  interesting. 

The  most  conspicuous  was  a  large  yellow 
and  black  wasp,  with  a  remarkably  long  and 
narrow  waist,  the  Pelopaeus  fistulaiis.  This 
species  collected  the  clay  in  little  rsund  pel- 
lets, which  it  carried  off,  after  rolling  them 
into  a  convenient  shape,  in  its  mouth.  It 
came  straight  to  the  pit  with  a  loud  hum, 
and  on  alighting  lost  not  a  moment  in  be- 
ginning to  work  ;  finishing  the  kneading  of 
its  little  load  in  two  or  three  minutes.  The 
nest  of  this  wasp  is  shaped  like  a  pouch,  two 
inches  in  length  and  is  attached  to  a  branch 
or  other  projecting  object.  One  of  these 
restless  artificers  once  began  to  build  on  the 
handle  of  a  chest  in  the  cabin  of  my  canoe, 
when  we  were  stationary  at  a  place  for  sev- 
eral days.  It  was  so  intent  on  its  work  that 
it  allowed  me  to  inspect  the  i  ^ovements  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


695 


Its  mouth  with  a  lens  while  it  was  lying  on 
Tthc  mortar.  Every  fresh  pellet  was  brought 
jn  with  a  triumphant  song,  which  changed  to 
si  Cheerful  busy  hum  when  it  alighted  and 
begun  to  work.  The  little  bull  of  moist  clay 
•was  laid  on  the  edge  of  the  cell,  and  then 
spread  out  around  the  circular  rim,  by  means 
of  the  lower  lip  guided  by  the  mandibles. 
The  insect  placed  itself  astride  over  the  rim 
to  work,  and,  on  finishing  each  addition  to 
the  structure,  took  a  turn  round,  patting  the 
sides  with  its  feet  inside  and  out,  before  fly- 
ing off  to  gather  a  fresh  pellet.  It  worked 
only  in  sunny  weather,  and  the  previous 
layer  was  sometimes  not  quite  dry  when  the 
new  coating  was  added.  The  whole  struc- 
ture takes  about  a  week  to  complete.  I  left 
the  place  before  the  gay  little  builder  had 
quite  finished  her  task  ;  she  did  not  accom- 
pany the  canoe,  although  we  moved  along 
the  bank  of  the  river  very  slowly.  On  open- 
ing closed  nests  of  this  species,  which  are 
common  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mahica,  I 
always  found  them  to  be  stocked  with  small 
spiders  of  the  genus  Gastracantha,  in  the 
usual  half-dead  state  to  which  the  mother 
wasps  reduce  the  insects  which  are  to  serve 
-as  food  for  their  progeny. 

Besides  the  PelopaBus  there  were  three  or 
four  kinds  of  Trypoxylon,  a  genus  also 
found  in  Europe,  and  which  some  naturalists 
have  supposed  to  be  parasitic,  because  the 
legs  are  not  furnished  with  the  usual  row  of 
strong  bristles  for  digging,  characteristic  of 
the  family  to  which  it  belongs.  The  species 
of  Trypoxylon,  however,  are  all  building 
wasps  ;  two  of  them  which  I  observed  (T. 
.albitarse  and  an  undescribed  species)  pro- 
vision their  nests  with  spiders,  a  third  (T. 
aurifrons)  with  small  caterpillars.  Their 
habits  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Pelopaeus : 
namely,  they  carry  off  the  clay  in  their  man- 
dibles, and  have  a  different  song  when  they 
hasten  away  with  the  burden  from  that 
which  they  sing  while  at  work.  Trypoxy- 
lon albitarse,  which  is  a  large  black  kind, 
three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  makes  a 
tremendous  fuss  while  building  its  cell.  It 
often  chooses  the  walls  or  doors  of  chambers 
for  this  purpose,  and  when  two  or  three  are 
at  work  in  the  same  place  their  loud  hum- 
ming keeps  the  house  in  an  uproar.  The  cell 
is  a  tubular  structure  about  three  inches  in 
length.  T.  aurifrons,  a  much  smaller  spe- 
cies, makes  a  neat  little  nest  shaped  like  a 
carafe  ;  building  rows  of  them  together  in 
the  corners  of  verandas. 

But  the  most  numerous  and  interesting  of 
the  clay  artificers  are  the  workers  of  a  species 
of  social  bee,  the  Melipona  fasciculata.  Tho, 
Melipona3  in  tropical  America  take  the 
place  of  the  true  Api'des  to  which  the  Euro- 
pean hive-bee  belongs,  and  which  are  here 
"unknown  ;  they  are  generally  much  smaller 
insects  than  the  hive-bees  ana  have  no  sting 
The  M.  fasciculata  is  about  a  third  shorter 
than  the  Apis  mellifica  ;  its  colonies  are  com- 
posed of  an  immense  number  of  individuate. 
Tke  workers  are  generally  seen  collecting 
pollen  in  the  same  way  as  other  beefe  bU% 


great  numbers  are  employed  gathering  clay. 
The  rapidity  and  precision  of  their  move- 
ments while  thus  engaged  are  wonderful. 
They  first  scrape  the  clay  with  their  iaws; 
the  small  portions  gathered  are  then  cleared 
by  the  anterior  paws  and  passed  to  the  second 
pair  of  feet,  which  in  their  turn,  convey  them 
to  the  large  foliated  expansions  of  the  hind 
shanks,  which  are  adapted  normally  in  bees, 
as  every  one  knows,  for  the  collection  of 
pollen.  The  middle  feet  pat  the  growing 
pellets  of  mortar  on  the  hind  legs  to  keep 
them  in  a  compact  shape  as  the  particles  are 
successively  added.  The  little  hodsmen  soon 
have  as  much  as  they  can  carry,  and  they 
soon  fly  off.  I  was  for  some  time  puzzled  to 
know  what  the  bees  did  with  the  clay  ;  but 
I  had  afterward  plenty  of  opportunity  for  as- 
certaining. They  construct  their  combs  in 
any  suitable  crevice  in  trunks  of  trees  or  per- 
pendicular banks,  and  the  clay  is  required 
to  build  up  a  wall  so  as  to  close  the  gap,  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  orifice  for  their  own 
entrance  and  exit.  Most  kinds  of  Meliponse 
are  in  this  way  masons  as  well  as  workers  in 
wax  and  pollen-gatherers.  One  little  species 
(undescribed),  not  more  than  two  lines  long, 
builds  a  neat  tubular  gallery  of  clay,  kneaded 
with  some  viscid  substance,  outside  the  en- 
trance to  its  hive,  besides  blocking  up  the 
crevice  in  the  tree  within  which  it  is  situated. 
The  mouth  of  the  tube  is  trumpet-shaped, 
and  at  the  entrance  a  number  of  the  pigmy 
bees  are  always  stationed,  apparentlv  acting 
as  sentinels. 

A  hive  of  the  Mellipona  fasciculata  which 
I  saw  opened,  contained  about  two  quarts 
of  pleasantly-tasted  liquid  honey.  The  bees, 
as  already  remarked,  have  no  sting,  but  they 
bite  furiously  when  their  colonies  are  dis- 
turbed. The  Indian  who  plundered  the  hive 
was  completely  covered  by  them  ,  they  took 
a  particular  fancy  to  the  hair  of  his  head,  and 
fastened  on  it  by  hundreds.  I  found  forty- 
five  species  of  these  bees  in  different  parts 
of  the  country  ;  the  largest  was  half  an  inoh 
in  length  ;  the  smallest  were  extremely  mi- 
nute, some  kinds  being  not  more  than  one 
twelfth  of  an  inch  in  size.  These  tiny  fel- 
lows are  often  very  troublesome  in  the  woods, 
on  account  of  their  familiarity  ;  for  they 
settle  on  one's  face  and  hands,  and,  in  crawl* 
ing  about,  get  into  the  eyes  and  mouth  or 
up  the  nostrils. 

The  broad  expansion  of  the  hind  shanks 
of  bees  is  applied  in  some  species  to  other 
uses  besides  the  conveyance  of  clay  and  pol- 
len. The  female  of  the  handsome  golden 
and  black  Euglossa  Surinamensis  has  this 
palette  of  very  large  size.  This  speciea 
builds  its  solitary  nest  also  in  crevices  qi 
walls  or  trees ;  but  it  closes  up  the  chink 
with  fragments  of  dried  leaves  and  sticks, 
cemented  together,  instead  of  clay.  It  visits 
the  caju-trees,  and  gathers  with  its  hind  legs 
a  small  quantity  of  the  gum  which  exudes 
from  their  trunks.  To  this  it  adds  the  other 
materials  required  from  the  neighboring 
bushes,  and  when  laden  flies  off  to  its  neat. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


To  the  south  my  rambles  never  extended 
further  than  the  banks  of  the  Irura,  a  stream 
which  rises  among  the  hills  already  spoken 
of,    and    running  through  a  broad  valley, 
wooded  along  the  margins  of  the  water- 
courses, falls  into  the  Tapajos  at  the  head 
of  the  bay  of  Mapiri.     All  beyond,  as  before 
remarked,  is  terra  incognita  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Santarem.      The  Brazilian  settlers 
on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons  seem  to  have 
no  taste  for  explorations  by  land,  and  I  could 
find  no  person  willing  to  accompany  me  on 
an  excursion  further  toward   the    interior. 
Such  a  journey  would  be  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult in  this  country,  even  if  men  could  be 
obtained  willing  to  undertake  it.     Besides, 
there  were  reports  of  a  settlement  of  fierce 
runaway  negroes  on  the  Serra  de  Mururaru, 
and  it  was  considered  unsafe  to  go  far  in 
that  direction,  except  with  a  large  armed 
party.     I  visited  the  banks  of  the  Irura  and 
the  rich  woods  accompanying  it,  and  two 
other  streams  in  the  same  neighborhood,  one 
called  the  Panema,  and  the  other  the  Uru- 
mari,  once  or  twice  a  week  during  the  whole 
time  of  my  residence  in  Santarem,  and  made 
large  collections  of  their  natural  productions. 
These  forest  brooks,   with  their  clear  cold 
Waters  brawling  over  their  sandy  or  pebbly 
beds,  through  wild  tropical   glens,  always 
had  a  great  charm  for  me.    The  beauty  of 
the  moist,  cool,  and  luxuriant   glades  was 
heightened  by  the  contrast  they  afforded  to 
the  sterile  country  around  them.    The  bare 
or  scantily  wooded  hills  which  surround  the 
valley  are  parched  by  the  rays  of  the  vertical 
sun.     One  of  them,  the  Pico  do  Irura,  forms 
a  nearly  perfect  cone,  rising  from  a  small 
grassy  plain  to  a  height  of  500  or  600  feet, 
and  its  ascent  is  excessively  fatiguing  after 
the    long   walk    from    Santarem    over    the 
campos.     I  tried  it  one  day,  but  did  not  reach 
the   summit.      A  dense  growth  of  coarse 
grasses  clothed  the  steep  sides  of  the  hill, 
with  here  and  there  a  stunted  tree  of  kinds 
found  in  the  plain  beneath.     In  bared  places, 
a  red  crumbly  soil  is  exposed  ;   and  in  one 
part  a  mass  of  rock,  which  appeared  to  me, 
from  its  compact  texture  and  the  absence  of 
stratification,  to  be  porphyritic  ;   but  I  am 
not  geologist  sufficient  to  pronounce  on  such 
questions.     Mr.  Wallace  states  that  he  found 
fragments  of  scoria?,  and  believes  the  hill  to 
be  a  volcanic  cone.    To  the  south  and  east 
of  this  isolated  peak  the  elongated  ridges  or 
table-topped  hills  attain  a  somewhat  greater 
elevation. 

The  forest  in  the  valley  is  limits  to  a  tract 
a  few  hundred  jrards  in  width  on  each  side 
of  the  different  streams  ;  in  places  where 
these  run  along  the  bases  of  the  hills,  the 
hill-sides  facing  the  water  are  also  richly 
wooded,  although  their  opposite  declivities 
are  bare,  or  nearly  so.  The  trees  are  lofty 
and  of  great  variety  ;  among  them  are  colos- 
sal examples  of  the  Brazil- nut- tree  (Berthol- 
letia  excelsa),  and  the  Pikia.  This  latter 
bears  a  large  eatable  fruit,  curious  in  having 
a  hollow  chamber  between  the  pulp  and  the 
kernel,  beset  with  hard  spines,  which  oro 


duce  serious  wounds  if  they  enter  the  skic. 
The  eatable  part  appeared  to  me  not  much . 
more  palatable  than  a  raw  potato  ;  but  the  • 
inhabitants  of  Santarem.  are  very  fond  of  it , 
and  undertake  the  most  toilsome  journeys  on       l 
foot  to  gather  a  basketful.     The  tree  which 
yields  the  tonka  bean  (Dipteryx  odorata), 
used  in  Europe  for  scenting  snuff,  is  also  of 
frequent  occurrence  here.     It  grows  to  an 
immense     height,    and  the    fruit,     which, 
although  a  legume,  is  of  a  rounded  shape, 
and  has  but  one  seed,  can  be  gathered  only 
when  it  falls  to  the  ground.     A  considerable 
quantity  (from  1000  to  3000  pounds)  is  ex- 
ported annually  from  Santarem,  the  produce 
of  the  whole  region  of  the   Tapajos.     An 
endless  diversity  of  trees  and  shrubs,  some 
beautiful  in  flower  and  foliage,  others  bear- f 
ing  curious  fruits,  grow  in  this  matted  wil- 
derness.    It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate 
many  of  them.    I  was  much  struck  with  the 
variety    of  trees  with  large  and   diversely 
shaped  fruits  growing  out  of  the  trunk  and 
branches,  some  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
ground,  like  the  cacao.     Most  of  them  ate 
called  by  the  natives  Cupu,  and  the  trees 
are  of  inconsiderable  height.     One  of  them, 
called  Cupu-aT,   bears  a  fruit  of  elliptical 
shape  and  of  a  dingy  earthen  color,  six  or 
seven    inches  long,   the  shell  of  which  is- 
woody  and  thin,  and  contains  a  small  num- 
ber of  seeds  loosely  enveloped  in  a  juicy  pulp  - 
of  very  pleasant  flavor.      The  fruits  hang, 
like  clayey  ants'  nests  from  the  branches. 
Another    kind  more   nearly  resembles   the 
cacao  ;    this  is.  shaped  something  like  the- 
cucumber,  and  has  a  green  ribbed  husk.     It. 
bears  the  name  of  Cacao  de    macaco,   or 
monkey's  chocolate,  but  the  seeds  are  smaller 
than  those  of  the  common  cacao.     I  tried 
once  or  twice  to  make  chocolate  from  them. 
They  contain  plenty  of  oil  of  similar  fra- 
grance to  that  of  the  ordinary  cacao- nut,  and: 
make  up  very  well  into  paste  ;,  but  the  bever- 
age has  a  repulsive  clayey  c^lor  and  an  in- 
ferior flavor. 

My  excursions  to  the  Iruik  i*ad  always  a& 
picnic  character.     A  few  rude  huts  are  scat- 
tered through  the  valley,  but  they  are  tenant- 
ed only  for  a  few  days  in  the  year,  wheu 
their  owners  come  to  gather  and  roast  the 
mandioca  of  their  small  clearings.     We  used 
generally  to  take  with  us  two  boys— one  negro- 
the  other  Indian — to  carry  our  provisions  for 
the  day  ;  a  few  pounds  of  beef  or  fried  fish 
farinha,  and  bananas,   with    plates,  and    i 
kettle  for  cooking.     Jose  carried  the  guns, 
ammunition,  and  game-bags,  and  1  the  appa- 
ratus for  entomologizing — the  insect  net,  a 
large  leathern  bag  with  compartments  for 
corked   boxes,    phials,  glass  tubes,  and  so* 
forth.     It  was  our  custom  to  start  soon  after 
sunrise,  when  the  walk  over  the  campos  was- 
cool  and  pleasant,  the  sky  without  a  cloud, 
and  the  grass  wet  with  dew.     The  paths  are 
mere  faint  tracks  ;  in  our  early  excursions  it. 
was  difficult  to  avoid  missing  our  way.     We 
were  once  completely  lost,    and    wandered 
about  for  several  hours  over  the  scorchin 
Boil  without  recovering:  the  road.      A 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


697 


;s  obtained  of  the  country,  from  the  ris- 
ing £  round  about  half  way  across  the  waste. 
Thence  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley  is  a  long, 
gentle,  grassy  slope,  bare  of  trees.  The 
strangely-shaped  hills  ;  the  forest  at  their 
feet,  richly  varied  with  palms  ;  the  bay  of 
Mapiri  on  the  right,  with  the  dark  waters  of 
the  Tapajos  and  its  white  glistening  shores, 
are  all  spread  out  before  one,  as  if  depicted 
on  canvas.  The  extreme  transparency  of  the 
atmosphere  gives  to  all  parts  of  the  land- 
scape such  clearness  of  outline  that  the  idea 
of  distance  is  destroyed,  and  one  fancies  the 
whole  to  be  almost  within  reach  of  the  hand. 
Descending  into  the  valley,  a  small  brook 
has  to  be  crossed,  and  then  half  a  mile  of 
sandy  plain,  whose  vegetation  wears  a  pecu- 
liar aspect,  owing  to  the  predominance  of  a 
steinless  palm,  the  Curua  (Attalea  specta- 
bilis),  whose  large,  beautifully  pinnated,  rigid 
leaves  rise  directly  from  the  soil.  The  fruit 
of  this  species  is  similar  to  the  cocoauut,  con- 
taining milk  in  the  interior  of  the  kernel,  but 
it  is  much  inferior  to  it  in  size.  Here,  and 
indeed  all  along  the  road,  we  saw  on  most 
days  in  the  wet  season  tracks  of  the  jaguar. 
We  never,  however,  met  with  the  animal, 
although  we  sometimes  heard  his  loud 
"hough"  in  the  night,  while  lying  in  our 
hammocks  at  home,  in  Santarem,  and  knew 
he  must  be  lurking  somewhere  near  us. 

My  best  hunting  ground  was  a -part  of  the 
valley  sheltered  on  one  side  by  a  steep  hill, 
•whose  declivity,  like  the  swampy  valley  be- 
:«eath,  was  clothed  with  magnificent  forest. 
We  used  to  make  our.halt  in  a  small  cleared 
place,  tolerably  free  from  ants  and  close  to 
the  water.  Here  we  assembled  after  our 
toilsome  morning's  hunt  in  different  direc- 
tions through  the  woods,  took  our  well-earned 
meal  on  the  ground — two  broad  leaves  of  the 
"wild  banana  serving  us  for  a  tablecloth — and 
j-ested  for  a  couple  of  hours  during  the  great 
heat  of  the  afternoon.  The  diversity  of  ani- 
mal productions  was  as  wonderful  as  th*H  of 
the  vegetable  forms  in  this  rich  locality.  It 
was  pleasant  to  lie  down  during  the  hottest 
part  of  the  day,  when  my  people  lay  asleep, 
and  watch  the  movements  of  animals. 
Sometimes  a  troop  of  Aanus  (Crotophaga),  a 
glossy  black-plumaged  bird,  which  lives  in 
small  societies  in  grassy  places,  would  come 
in  from  the  campus,  one  by  one,  calling  to 
each  other  as  they  moved  from  tree  to  tree. 
Or  a  Toucan  (Rhamphastos  ariel)  silently 
hopped  or  ran  along  and  up  the  branches, 
/>eeping  into  chinks  and  crevices.  Notes  of 
solitary  birds  resounded  from  a  distance 
through  the  wilderness.  Occasionally  a  sulky 
Trogon  would  be  seen,  with  its  brilliant 
green  back  and  rose-colored  breast,  perched 
for  an  hour  without  moving  on  a  low  branch. 
A  number  of  large  fut  lizards,  two  feet  long, 
of  a  kind  called  by  the  natives  Jac-uaru  (Teius 
teguexim)  were  always  observed  in  the  still 
hours  of  mid-day  scampering  with  great  clat- 
ter over  the  dead  leaves,  apparently  in  chase 
of  each  other.  The  fat  of  this  bulky  lizard 
is  much  prized  by  the  natives,  who  apply  it 
as  a  poultice  to  draw  palm  spines  or  even. 


grains  of  shot  from  the  flesh.  Othei  MzanU 
of  repulsive  aspect,  about  three  feet  in  length 
when  full  grown,  splashed  about  and  swam 
in  the  water  :  sometimes  emerging  to  crawl 
into  hollow  trees  on  the  banks  of  the  stream, 
where  I  once  found  a  female  and  a  nest  of 
eggs.  The  lazy  flapping  tt'ght  of  large  blue 
and  black  inorpho  butterflies  high  in  the  air, 
the  hum  of  insects,  and  many  inanimate 
sounds,  contributed  their  share  to  the  total 
impression  this  strange  solitude  produced. 
Heavy  fruits  from  the  crowns  of  trees  which 
were  mingled  together  at  a  giddy  height 
overhead,  fell  now  and  then  with  a  startling 
"  plop"  into  the  water.  The  breeze,  not 
felt  below,  stirred  in  the  topmost  branches, 
setting  the  twisted  and  looped  sipos  in  mo- 
tion, which  creaked  and  groaned  in  a  great 
variety  of  notes.  To  these  noises  was  added 
the  monotonous  ripple  of  the  brook,  which 
had  its  little  cascade  at  every  score  or  two 
yards  of  its  course. 

I  seldom  met  with  any  of  the  larger  ani 
mals  in  these  excursions.  We  never  saw  a 
mammal  of  any  kind  on  the  cainpos  ;  but 
tracks  of  three  species  were  seen  occasionally 
besides  those  of  the  jaguar  ;  these  belonged 
to  a  small  tiger-cat,  a  deer,  and  an  opossum  ; 
all  of  which  animals  must  have  been  very 
rare,  and  probably  nocturnal  in  their  habits, 
with  the  exception  of  the  deer.  I  saw  in  the 
woods,  on  one  occasion,  a  small  flock  of 
monkeys,  and  once  had  an  opportunity  of 
watching  the  movements  of  a  sloth.  The 
latter  was  of  the  kind  called  by  Cuvier 
Bradypus  triductylus,  which  is  clothed  with 
shaggy  gray  hair.  The  natives  call  it,  in  the 
Tupi  language.  AX  ybyrete  (in  Portuguese, 
Preguiya  da  terra  firme),  or  sloth  of  the  main- 
laud,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Bradypus  in- 
fuscatus.  which  has  a  long  black  and  tawny 
stripe  between  the  shoulders,  and  is  called 
AYygapo  (Preguipi  das  vargens),or  sloth  of  the 
flooded  lauds.  Some  travellers  in  South  Amer- 
ica have  described  the  sloth  as  very  nimble  in 
its  native  woods,  and  have  disputed  the  just- 
ness of  the  name  which  has  been  bestowed 
upon  it.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Amazons 
region,  however,  both  Indians  and  descend- 
ants of  the  Portuguese,  hold  to  the  common 
opinion,  and  consider  the  sloth  as  the  type  of 
laziness.  It  is  very  common  for  one  native 
to  call  another,  in  reproaching  him  for  idle- 
ness, "  bicho  de  Embauba'p  (beast  of  the 
Cecropia  tree) ;  the  leaves  of  the  Cecropia  be- 
ing the  food  of  the  sloth.  It  is  a  strange  sight 
to  watch  the  uncouth  creature,  fit  production 
of  these  silent  shades,  lazily  moving  frem 
branch  to  branch.  Every  movement  be- 
trays, not  indolence  exactly,  but  extreme 
caution.  He  never  loses  his  hold  from  one 
branch  without  first  securing  himself  to  the 
next,  and  when  he  does  not  immediately  find 
a  bough  to  grasp  with  the  rigid  hooks  into 
which  his  paws  are  so  curiously  transformed, 
he  raises  his  body,  supported  on  his  hind 
legs,  and  claws  around  in  search  of  a  fresh 
foothold.  After  watching  the  animal  fcr 
ab*ut  half  an  hour  I  gave  him  a  charge  of 
shot:  he  fell  with  a  terrific  crajsh.  but 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


caught  a  bough,  in  his  descent,  with  his 
powerful  claws,  and  remained  suspended. 
Our  Indian  lad  tried  to  climb  the  tree,  but 
was  driven  back  by  swarms  of  stinging 
ants  ;  the  poor  little  fellow  slid  down  in  a 
sad  predicament,  and  plunged  into  the  brook 
to  free  himself.  Two  days  afterward  I 
found  the  hi>dy  of  the  sloth  on  the  ground  : 
the  animal  having  dropped  on  the  relaxation 
of  the  muscles  a  few  hours  after  death.  In 
one  of  our  voyages  Mr.  Wallace  and  I  saw 
a  sloth  (B.  infuscatus)  swimming  across  a 
river,  at  a  place  where  it  was  probably  300 
yards  broad.  I  believe  it  is  not  generally 
known  that  this  animal  takes  to  the  water. 
Our  men  caught  the  beast,  cooked,  and  ate 
him. 

In  returning  from  these  trips  we  were 
sometimes  benighted  on  the  campos.  We 
did  not  care  for  this  on  moonlit  nights,  when 
there  was  no  danger  of  losing  the  path.  The 
great  heat  felt  in  the  middle  hours  of  the 
day  is  much  mitigated  by  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  ;  a  few  birds  then  make  their  ap- 
pearance ;  small  flocks  of  ground  duves  run 
about  the  stony  hillocks  ;  parrots  pass  over 
and  sometimes  settle  in  the  ilhas  ;  pretty 
little  finches  of  several  species,  especially  one 
kind,  streaked  with  olive-brown  and  yellow, 
and  somewhat  resembling  our  yellow-ham- 
mer, but,  I  believe,  not  belonging  to  the 
same  genus,  hop  about  the  grass^  enlivening 
the  place  with  a  few  musical  notes.  The 
Carashue  (Mimtis)  also  then  resumes  its  mel- 
low blackbird-like  song  ;  and  two  or  three 
species  of  humming-bird,  none  of  which, 
however,  are  peculiar  to  the  district,  flit 
about  from  tree  to  tree.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  little  blue  and  yellow-striped  lizards, 
which  abound  among  the  herbage  during  the 
scorching  heats  of  mid-day,  retreat  toward 
this  hour  to  their  hiding-places  ;  together 
with  the  day-flying  insects  and  the  numerous 
campo-butterflies.  Some  of  these  latter  re- 
semble greatly  our  English  species  found  in 
healthy  places,  namely,  a  fritillary,  Argyuuis 
(Euptoieta)  Hegesia,  and  two  smaller  kinds, 
which  are  deceptively  like  the  little  Nemeo- 
bius  Luciua.  After  sunset  the  air  becomes 
delightfully  cool  and  fragrant  with  the  aroma 
of  fruits  and  flowers.  The  nocturnal  ani- 
mals then  come  forth.  A  monstrous  hairy 
spider,  rive  inches  in  expanse,  of  x  brown 
color,  with  yellowish  lines  along  its  stout 
legs — which  is  very  common  hf  re,  inhabit- 
ing broad  tubular  galleries  smoothly  lined 
with  silken  web — may  be  then  caught  on 
the  wateL,  fit  the  mouth  of  its  burrow.  It  is 
only  seen  at  night,  and  I  think  does  not  wan- 
der far'  from  its  den  ;  the  gallery  is  about 
two  inches  in  diameter,  and  runs  in  a  slant- 
ing direction,  about  two  feet  ftorn  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil.  As  soon  as  it  is  night, 
swaruis  of  goat-suckers  suddenly  make  their 
appearance,  wheeling  about  in  a  no.iseless, 
,ghostly  manner,  in  chase  of  night-flying  in- 
jsects.  They  sometimes  descend  and  settle 
on  a  low  branch,  or  even  on  the  pathway 
rlos.e  to  where  one  i$  walking ,  and  then, 
squatting  down  on  their  heels,  are  difficult  to 


distinguish  from  the  surrounding  soil.     One1? 
kind  lias  a  long  forked  tail.     In  the  day-time- 
they  are  concealed  in  the  wooded  ilhas,  where 
I  very  often  saw  them  crouched  and  sleeping- 
on  the  ground   in   the  dense  shade.     They 
make  no  nest,  but  lay  their  eggs  on  the  bare 
ground.     Their  breeding  time  is  in  tho  rainy 
season,  and  fresh  eggs  are  found  from  De- 
cember to  June.     Later  in  the  evening  tlio- 
singular  notes  of  the  goat-suckers  are  heuid, 
one    species    crying   Quao,    Quao,     another 
Chuck-co-co-cao  ;  and  these  are  repeated  at 
intervals  far  into  the  night  in  the  most  mo 
notonous  manner.     A  great  number  of  toads . 
are  seen  on  the  bare  sandy  pathways  soot, 
after  sunset.     One  of  them  was  quite  a  coir  •» 
sus,  about  seven  inches  in  length  and  three  ir 
height.     This  big  fellow  would  never  move 
ouf,  of  the  way  until  we  were  close  to  him. 
If  we  jerked  him  out  of  the  path  with  a  stick, 
he  would  slowly  recover  himself,  and  then 
turn  round  to  have  a  good  impudent  stare. 
I  have  counted   as  many  as  thirty  of  ibese 
monsters  within  a  distance  of  half  a  mile. 
CHAPTER   IX. 

VOYAGE   UP   THE   TAPAJOS. 

Preparations  for  voyage -First  day's   sail—  Loss  of 
boat— Altar  do  Chao— Modes  of  obtaining  fish— Dif-  - 
flculties  with  crew — Arrival  at  Aveyroa— Excursions 
in  the  neiirhborhood— White  Cebus  and  habits  »nd. 
dispositions  of  Cebi  monkeys— Tame  parrot — Mis- 
sionary settlement— Knter  the  River  Cupari— Adven 
lure  with  an  anaconda — Smoke-dried  monkey — Bo  i 
constric'or—  Village  of  Mnmlurueu  Indians,  and  in- 
cursiiHi  of  a  wild  tribe — Palls  of  the  Cupari -Hva 
cintliine  'imcaw— He-emerge  into  the  broad  Tapajof ' 
— Descent  of  river  to  Santarem. 

June,   1852.— I  will  now  proceed  to    re 
late  the  incidents  of  my  principal  excursion 
up  the  Tapajos.  which  I  began  to  prepares 
for  after  residing  about  six  months  at  Sun- 
tarem. 

I  was  obliged,  this  time,  to  travel  in  a 
vessel  of  my  own  ;  partly  because  trading- 
canoes  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  natu- 
ralist very  seldom  pass  between  Santarem. 
and  the  thinly-peopled  settlements  on  the 
river,  and  paitly  because  I  wished  to  ex- 
plore districts  at  my  ease  far  out  of  the 
ordinary  track  of  traders.  I  soon  found  a 
suitable  canoe — a  two-masted  cuberta,  of 
about  six  tons'  burden,  strongly  built  of 
Itaiiba  or  stonewood,  a  timber  of  which  all 
the  best  vessels  in  the  Amazons  country  are 
constructed,  and  said  to  be  more  durabi«» 
than  teak.  This  I  hired  of  a  merchant  nt 
the  cheap  rate  of  500  reis,  or  about  one  shil- 
ling and  twopence  per  day.  I  fitted  up  the 
cabin,  which,  as  usual  in  canoes  of  this 
class,  was  a  square  structure  with  its  floor 
above  the  water-line,  as  my  sleeping  and 
working  apartments.  My  chests,  filled  with 
store-boxes  and  trays  for  specimens,  were 
arranged  on  each  side,  and  above  them  were 
shelves  and  pegs  to  hold  my  little  stock  of 
useful  books,  guns,  and  game  bags,  boaids 
and  materials  for  skinning  and  preserving 
animals,  botanical  press  and  papers,  drying' 
rages  for  insects  and  birds,  and  sj  forth.  A 
rusJj.iiuU  was  spread  OH. the  floor,  and  my 
iuiija-up  hammock,  to  be  u^ed  only  wheu. 


THE  NATURxYLlST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


6ft 


sleeping,  ashore,  served  for  a  pillow.  The 
jirched  covering  over  the  hold  in  the  forepart 
»of  the  vessel  contained,  besides  a  sleeping 
place  for  the  crew,  my  heavy  chests,  stock  of 
salt  provisions  and  groceries,  and  an  assort- 
ment of  goods  wherewith  to  pay  m/ way 
among  the  half-civilized  or  savage  r'^abit- 
ants  of  i  he  interior.  The  goods  consisted 
of  easchaca  powder  and  shot,  a  few  pieces 
of  coarse  checked-cotton  cloth  and  prints, 
fish-hooks,  axes,  large  knives,  harpoons, 
arrow  heads,  looking- glasses, beads,  and  other 
small  wares.  Jose  and  myself  were  busy 
for  many  days  arranging  these  matters.  We 
had  to  salt  the  meat  and  grind  a  supply  «>f 
coffee  ourselves.  Cooking  utensils,  crock- 
ery, water  jars,  a  set  of  useful  carpenter's 
tools,  and  many  other  things  had  to  be  pro- 
vided. We  put,  all  the  groceries  and  other 
perishable  articles  in  tin  canisters  and  boxes, 
having  found  that  this  was  the  only  way  of 
preserving  them  from  d  mp  and  insects  in 
this  climate.  When  all  was  done,  our  canoe 
looked  like  a  little  floating  workshop. 

I  could  get  little  information  about  the 
river,  except  vague  accounts  of  the  difficulty 
of  the  navigation  and  the  f  ami  to  or  hunger 
which  reigned  on  its  bank*.  As  I  have  be- 
fore mentioned,  it  is  about  a  thousand  mil^s 
in  length,  and  flows  from  south  to  north  ;  in 
magnitude  it  stands  the  sixth  among  the 
tributaries  of  the  Amazon*.  It  is  navigable, 
however,  by  sailing  vessels  only  for  about 
160  miles  above  Santarem.  The  hiring  of 
men  to  navigate  the  vessel  was  our  greatest 
trouble.  Jose  was  to  be  my  helmsman,  and 
we  thought  three  other  hands  would  be  the 
fewest  with  which  we  could  venture.  But 
all  our  endeavors  to  procure  these  were 
fiuitless.  Santarem  is  woise  provided  with 
Indian  canoernen  than  any  other  town  on 
the  river.  I  found  on  applying  to  the 
tradesmen  to  whom  I  had  brought  letters  of 
introduction,  add  to  the  Brazilian  authori- 
\  ties,  that  almost  any  favor  would  be  sooner 
granted  than  the  loan  of  hands.  A  stranger, 
h'owever,  is  obliged  to  depend  on  them  ;  for 
it  is  impossible  t  >  fin  1  an  Indian  or  half- 
caste  wlum  some  one  or  other  of  the  head- 
men do  not  clam  as  owing  him  money  or 
labor.  I  was  afraid  at  one  time  I  should 
have  been  forced  to  abandon  1113'  project  on 
this  account.  At  length,  after  many  rebuffs 
and  disappointments,  Jose  contrived  to  en- 
gage one  mau,  a  mulattto,  named  Pinto,  a 
native  of  the  mining  country  of  Interior 
Brazil,  who  knew  the  river  well  ;  and  willi 
these  two  I  resolved  to  start,  hoping  to  meet 
with  others  at  the  first  village  on  the  road. 

We  left  Santarem  on  the  8th  of  June. 
The  waters  were  then  at  their  highest  point, 
and  my  canoe  had  been  anchored  close  to 
the  back  door  of  our  house.  The  morning 
was  cool,  and  a  brisk  wind  blew,  with  which 
we  sped  rapidly  past  the  whitewashed 
houses  and  thatched  Indian  huts  of  the  sub- 
urbs. The  charming  little  bay  of  Mapir6 
was  soon  left  behind  ;  we  then  doubled  Point 
Maria  Josepha,  a  headland  formed  of  high 
cliffs  of  Tabatinya  clav,  cupped  with 


This  forms  the  limit  of  the  river  view  from 
Santarem,  an'!  here  we  had  our  last  glimpse, 
at  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight,  miles,  of  the 
city,  a  bright  line  of  tiny  white  buildings 
resting  on  the  dark  water.  A  stretch  of  wild, 
rocky,  uninhabited  coast  was  before  us,  and 
we  were  fairly  within  the  Tapajos. 

Our  course  lay  due  west  for  about  twenty 
miles.  The  wind  increased  as  we  neare  I 
Point  Cuiuru,  where  the  river  bends  from 
its  northern  course.  A  vast  expanse  of 
water  here  stretches  to  the  west  and  south, 
and  the  waves  with  a  strong  breeze  run  very 
high.  As  we  were  doubling  the  point  the 
cable  which  held  our  montaria  in  tow  astern 
parted,  and  in  endeavoring  to  recover  tho 
boat,  without  which  we  knew  it  would  bo 
difficult  to  get  ashore  on  many  parts  of  the 
coast,  we  were  very  near  capsizing.  W"G 
tried  to  tack  down  the  river,  a  vain  attempt 
with  a  strong  breeze  and  no  current.  Our 
ropes  snapped,  the  sails  flew  to  rags,  and 
the  vessel,  which  we  now  found  was  defi- 
cient in  ballast,  heeled  over  frightfully.  Con- 
trary to  Jose's  advice,  I  ran  the  cuberta  into 
a  little  bay.  thinking  to  cast  anchor  there  *in:I 
wait  for  the  boat  coming  up  with  the  wind  ; 
but  the  anchor  dragged  on  the  smooth  sandv 
bottom,  and  the  vessel  went  broadside  on  t  » 
the  rocky  beach.  With  a  little  dexterous 
management,  but  not  until  after  we  had  sus 
taine^  s^r«e  severe  bumps,  we  managed  to 
get  out  of  this  difficulty,  clearing  the  rocky 
point  at  a  close  shave  with  our  jib-sail. 
Soon  after  we  drifted  into  the  smooth  watci- 
of  a  sheltered  bay,  which  leads  to  the  charm- 
ingly situated  village  of  Altar  do  Chao  ;  and 
we  were  obliged  to  give  up  our  attempt  t  j 
recover  the  montaria. 

The  little  settlement,  Altar  do  Chao  (Altar 
of  the  ground,  or  Earth  altar),  owes  its  singu- 
lar name  to  the  existence,  at  the  entrance 
to  the  harbor,  of  one  of  those  strange  flat- 
topped  hills  which  are  so  common  in  this 
part  of  the  Amuzons  country,  shaped  likj 
the  high  altar  in  Roman  Catholic  churches. 
It  is  an  isolated  one,  and  much  lower  r.i 
height  than  the  similarly  truncated  hills  an  I 
ridges  near  Almeyrim.  being  elevated  prob- 
ably not  more  than  300  teet  above  the  lev  I 
of  the  river.  It  is  bare  of  trees,  but  covert  I 
in  places  with  a  species  of  fern.  At  the  hen  I 
of  the  bay  is  an  inner  harbor,  which  com- 
municates 1)3'  a  channel  with  a  series  of  lak<  * 
tying  in  the  valleys  between  hills,  an  I 
stretching  far  *nto  the  interior  of  the  land. 
The  village  is  peopled  almost  entirely  by 
eeini-civiltzed  Indians,  to  the  number  of  sixt  ,r 
or  seventy  families  ;  and  the  scattered  houst  s 
are  arranged  in  broad  streets  on  a  strip  ot* 
greenswarn,  at  the  foot  of  a  high,  gloriously 
wooded  ridge. 

I  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  situation  of 
this  settlement,  and  the  number  of  ra«> 
brrds  and  insects  which  tenanted  the  forest, 
that  I  revisited  it  in  the  following  year,  an.  I 
spent  four  months  making  collections.  Tl;  j 
houses  in  the  village  swarmed  with  vermin  : 
bats  in  the  thatch  ;  fire-ants  (formiga  de  fog  >l 
UjUUf  the  floors  ;  cockroaches  and  fipidtid 


700 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


on  the  w« 
en  doors 

originally  a  settlement  of  the  aborigines,  and 
was  called  Burari.  As  in  all  the  semi-civil- 
ized  villages,  where  the  original  orderly  and 
industrious  habits  of  the  Indian  have  been 
lost  without  anything  being  learned  from  the 
whites  to  make  amends,  the  inhabitants  live 
in  the  greatest  poverty.  The  scarcity  of  fish 
in  the  clear  waters  and  rocky  bays  of  the 
neighborhood  is  no  doubt  partly  the  cause  of 
the  poverty  and  perennial  hunger  which 
reign  here.  When  we  arrived  in  the  port 
our  canoe  was  crowded  with  the  half-naked 
villagers— men,  women,  and  children— who 
came  to  beg  each  a  piece  of  salt  pirarucu 
"  for  the  love  of  God."  They  are  not  quite 
so  badly  off  in  the  dry  season.  The  shallow 
lakes  arid  bays  then  contain  plenty  of  fish, 
and  the  boys  and  women  go  out  at  night  to 


..s.     Very  few  of  them  had  wood-    densely  wooded,  instead  of  an  open  campo 
and  locks.     Altar  do  Chao  was    In  no  part  of  the  country  did  I  enjoy  more 

1  the  moonlit  nights  than  here  in  the  dry  sea- 
son.  After  the  day's  work  was  done  I  used 
to  go  down  to  the  shores  of  the  bay  and  lie 
fnll  length  on  the  cool  sand  for  two  or  three 
hours  before  bedtime.  The  soft  pale  light, 
resting  on  broad  sandy  beaches  and  palm- 
thatched  huts,  reproduced  the  effect  of  a 
midwinter  scene  in  the  ccid  north  when  a 
coating  of  snow  lies  on  the  landscape.  A 
heavy  shower  falls  about  once  a  week,  and 
the  shrubby  vegetation  never  becomes 
parched  up  as  at  Santarem.  Between  the 
rains  the  heat  and  dryness  increase  from  day 
to  day  :  the  weather  on  the  first  day  after  the 
rain  is  gleamy,  with  intervals  of  melting 
sunshine  and  passing  clouds  ;  the  next  day 
is  rather  drier,  and  the  east  wind  begins  to 

__„ 0_ 0 blow  ;  then  follow  days  of   cloudless   sky, 

spear  them  by  torchlight,  the  torches  being  with  gradually  increasing  strength  of  breeze 
made  of  thin  strips  of  green  bark  from  the  When  this  has  continued  about  a  week  a, 
leaf-stalks  of  palms,  tied  in  bundles.  Manv  light  mistiness  begins  to  e-ather  about  the 
excellent  kinds  of  fish  are  thus  obtained,  horizon,  clouds  are  formed  "grumbling  thun- 
among  them  the  Pescada,  whose  white  and  der  is  heard,  and  then,  generally  in  the  night- 
flaky  flesh,  when  boiled,  has  the  appearance  time,  down  falls  the  refreshing  rain.  The 
and  flavor  of  codfish  ;  and  the  Tucunare  sudden  chill  caused  by  the  rains  produces 
(Cichla  temensis),  a  handsome  species  with  a  colds,  which  are  accompanied  by  the  same 
large  prettily-colored  eye-like  spot  on  its  tail,  symptoms  as  in  our  own  climate  ;  with  this 
Many  small  Salmonidse  are  also  met  with, 
and  a  kind  of  sole,  called  Aramassa,  which 
moves  along  the  clear  sandy  bottom  of  the 
bay.  At  these  times  a  species  of  sting-ray  is 
common  on  the  sloping  beach,  and  bathers 
are  frequently  stung  most  severely  by  it. 
The  weapon  of  this  fish  is  a  strong  blade 
with  jagged  edges,  about  three  inches  long, 

f  rowing  from  the  side  of  the  long  fleshy  tail, 
once  saw  a  woman  wounded  by  it  while 
bathing ;  she  shrieked  frightfully,  and  was 
obliged  to  be  carried  to  her  hammock,  where 
she  lay  for  a  week  in  great  pain.     I  have 


exception ,  the  place  is  very  healthy. 

June  \lth. — The  two  young  men  returned 
without  meeting  with  my  montaria,  and  I 
found  it  impossible  here  to  buy  a  new  one. 
The  head-man  could  find  me  only  one  hand. 
This  was  a  blunt-spoken  but  willing  young 
Indian,  named  Manoel.  He  came  on  board 


known  strong  men  to  be  lamed  for  many 
months  by  the  sting. 

There  was  a  mode  of  taking  fish  here  which 
I  had  not  before  seen  employed,  but  found 


this  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  and  we  then 
got  up  our  anchor  and  resumed  our  voyage. 
The  wind  was  light  and  variable  all  day, 
and  we  made  only  about  fifteen  miles  by 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  coast 
formed  a  succession  of  long  shallow  bays 
with  sandy  beaches,  on  which  the  waves 
broke  in  a  long  line  of  surf.  Ten  miles 
above  Altar  do  Chao  is  a  conspicuous  head- 
land, called  Point  Cajetuba.  During  a  lull 


afterward  to, be  very  common  on  the  Tapa-    of  the  wind,  toward  mid-day,  we  ran  the 
jos.      This  4s  by  using  a  poisonous  liana    cuberta  aground  in  shallow  water  and  waded 


called  Timbo  (Paullinia  pinuata).  It  will 
act  only  in  the  still  waters  of  creeks  and 
pools.  A  few  rods,  a  yard  in  length,  are 


ashore,  but  the  woods  were  scarcely  pene- 
trable, and  not  a  bird  was  to  be  seen.  The 
only  thing  observed  worthy  of  note  was  the 


mashed  and  soaked   in   the   water,  which  quantity  of  drowned  winged  ants  along  the 

quickly  becomes  discolored  with  the  milky,  beach  ;  they  were  all  of  one  species,  the  ter- 

deleterious  juice  of  the  plant.     In  about  half  rible  formiga  de  fogo  (Myrmica  ssevissima) ; 

an  hour  all  the  smaller  fishes  »ver  a  rather  the  dead  or  half -dead  bodies  of  which  were 

wide  space  around  the  spot  rise  to  the  sur-  heaped  up  in  a  line  an  inch  or  two  in  height 

face,  floating  on  their  sides,  and  with  the  and  breadth,  the  line  continuing  without  in- 

gills  wide  open.     The  poison  acts  evidently  terruption  for  miles  at  the  edge  of  the  water, 

by  suffocating  the  fishes  ;  it  spreads  slowly  The  countless  thousands  had  been  doubtless 

in  the  water,  and    a   very    slight   mixture  cast  into  the  river  while  flying  during  a  sud- 

seems  sufficient  to  stupefy  them.     I  was  sur-  den  squall  the  night  before,  and  afterward 

prised,  on  beating  the  water  in  places  where  cast  ashore  by  the  waves.     We  found  our- 

no  fishes  were  visible  in  the  clear  depths,  for  selves  at  seven  o  clock  near  the  mouth  of  a 

many  yards  round,  to  find,  sooner  or  later,  creek  leading  to  a  small  lake,  called  Ara- 

aometimes  twenty -four  hours  afterward,   a  mana-i  ;  and  the  wind  having  died  away,  we 

considerable  number  floating  dead  on  the  anchored,  guided  by  the  lights  ashore,  near 

surface.  the    house  of  a   settler  named    Jeronymo, 

The  climate  is  rather  more  humid  than  whom  I  knew,  and  who  soon  after  showed 

that  of  Santarem.     I  suppose  this  is  to  be  at-  us  a  snug  little  harbor  where  we  could  re- 
triubud  to  the  neighboring  country  being  •  main  in  safety  for  the  night.    The  river  her* 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


701 


cannot  be  less  than  ten  miles  broad  ;  it  is 
quite  clear  of  islands,  and  free  from  shoals 
at  this  season  of  the  year.  The  opposite 
coast  appeared  in  the  daytime  as  a  long  thin 
line  of  forest,  with  dim  gray  hills  in  the 
background. 

June  20th.—  We  had  a  light  baffling  wind 
off  shore  all  day  on  the  20th,  and  made  but 
fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  by  six  P.M.,  when, 
the  wind  failiag  us,  we  anchored  at  the 
mouth  of  a  narrow  channel,  called  Tapai- 
una,  which  runs  between  a  large  island  and 
the  mainland.  About  three  o'clock  we 
passed  in  front  of  Boim,  a  village  on  the  op- 
posite (western)  coast.  The  breadth  of  the 
river  is  here  six  or  seven  miles  :  a  confused 
patch  of  white  on  the  high  land  opposite  was 
all  we  saw  of  the  village,  the  separate  houses 
being  undistinguishable  on  account  of  the 
distance.  The  coast  along  which  we  sailed 
to-day  is  a  continuation  of  the  low  and  flood- 
ed land  of  Paquiatuba. 

June  21st. —  The  next  morning  we  sailed 
along  the  Tapaiuua  channel,  which  is  from 
400  to  600  yards  in  breadth.  We  advanced 
but  slowly,  as  the  wind  was  generally  dead 
against  us,  and  stopped  frequently  to  ramble 
ashore.  Wherever  the  landing  place  was 
sandy  it  was  impossible  to'walk  about  on  ac- 
count of  the  swarms  of  the  terrible  fire-ant, 
whose  sting  is  likened  by  the  Brazilians  to 
the  puncture  of  a  red-hot  needle.  There 
was  scarcely  a  square  inch  of  ground  free 
from  them.  About  three  P.M.  we  glided  into 
a  quiet,  shady  creek,  on  whose  banks  an  in- 
dustrious white  settler  had  located  himself. 
I  resolved  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  and 
night  here,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  a  fresh 
supply  of  provisions,  our  stock  of  salt  beef 
being  now  nearly  exhausted.  The  situation 
of  the  house  was  beautiful,  the  little  harbor 
being  gay  with  water  plants,  Pontederiae, 
now  full  of  purple  blossom,  from  which 
flocks  of  stilt-legged  water-fowl  started  up 
screaming  as  we  entered.  The  owner  sent  a 
boy  with  my  men  to  show  them  the  best 
place  for  fish  up  the  creek,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  sold  me  a  number  of  fowls, 
besides  baskets  of  beans  and  farinha.  The 
result  of  the  fishing  was  a  good  supply  of 
Jandia,  a  handsome  spotted  Siluride  fish, 
and  Piranha,  a  kind  of  salmon.  Piranhas 
are  of  several  kinds,  many  of  which  abound 
in  the  waters  of  the  Tapajos.  They  are 
caught  with  almost  any  kind  of  bait.for  their 
taste  is  indiscriminate  and  their  appetite 
most  ravenous.  They  often  attack  the  legs 
of  bathers  near  the  shore,  inflicting  severe 
wounds  with  their  strong  triangular  teeth. 
At  Paquiatiiba  and  this  place  I  added  about 
twenty  species  of  small  fishes  to  my  collec- 
tion, caught  by  hook  and  line,  or  with  the 
hand  in  shallow  pools  under  the  shade  of  the 
forest. 

My  men  slept  ashore,  and  on  the  coming 
aboard  in  the  morning  Pinto  was  drunk  and 
insolent.  According  to  Jose,  who  had  kept 
himself  sober,  and  was  alarmed  at  the  other's 
violent  conduct,  the  owner  of  the  house  and 
Pinto  hud  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  uighfc. 


together,  drinking  aguardente  de  beiju,  a 
spirit  distilled  from  th«  mandioca  root.  We 
knew  nothing  of  the  antecedents  of  this  man, 
who  was  a  tall,  strong,  self-willed  fellow, 
and  it  began  to  dawn  on  us  that  this  was  net 
a  very  safe  travelling  companion  in  a  wild 
country  like  this.  I  thought  it  better  now  to 
make  the  best  of  our  way  to  the  next  settle- 
ment, Aveyros,  and  get  rid  of  him.  Our 
course  to-day  lay  along  a  high  rocky  coast, 
which  extended  without  a  break  for  about 
eight  miles.  The  height  of  the  perpendicu- 
lar rocks  was  from  100  to  150  feet  iems 
and  flowering  shrubs  grew  in  the  crevices, 
and  the  summit  supported  a  luxuriant  growth 
of  forest,  like  the  rest  of  the  river  banks. 
The  waves  beat  with  loud  roar  at  the  foot  <.  f 
these  inhospitable  barriers.  At  two  P.M.  -wj 
passed  the  mouth  of  a  small  picturesque  hai\ 
bor,  formed  by  a  gap  in  the  precipitous 
coast.  Several  families  have  here  settled  ; 
the  place  is  called  Ita-puama,  or  "  standing 
rock,"  from  a  remarkable  isolated  cliff  which 
stands  erect  at  the  entrance  to  the  little 
haven.  A  short  distance  beyond  Ita-puama 
we  found  ourselves  opposite  to  the  village 
of  Pinhel,  which  is  perched,  like  Boim,  on 
high  ground,  on  the  western  side  of  the 
river.  The  stream  is  here  from  six  to  seven 
miles  wide.  A  line  of  low  islets  extends  in 
front  of  Pinhel,  and  a  little  farther  to  tb3 
south  is  a  larger  island,  called  Capitarl, 
which  lies  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 

June  23d  —  The  wind  freshened  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  23d.  A  thicK 
black  cloud  then  began  to  spread  itself  ovc: 
the  sky  along  way  down  the  river ;  the  storm 
which  it  portended,  however,  did  not  reach 
us,  as  the  dark  threatening  mass  crossevl 
from  east  to  west,  and  the  only  effect  it  ha  I 
was  to  impel  a  column  of  cold  air  up  the 
river,  creating  a  breeze  with  which  we 
bounded  rapidly  forward.  The  wind  in  thj 
afternoon  strengthened  to  a  gale ;  we  car- 
ried on  with  one  foresail  only,  two  of  the 
men  holding  on  to  the  boom  to  prevent  the 
whole  thing  from  flving  to  pieces.  Tho 
rocky  coast  continued  for  about  twelve  miles 
above  Ita-puama,  then  succeeded  a  tract  i>f 
low  marshy  land,  which  had  evidently  been 
ome  an  island  whose  channel  of  separatum 
from  the  mainland  had  become  silted  up. 
The  island  of  Capitari,  and  another  group  t  f 
islets  succeeding  it,  called  Jacare,  on  the  op- 
posite side,  helped  also  to  contract  at  this 
point  the  breadth  of  the  river,  which  was 
now  not  more  than  about  three  miles.  The 
little  cuberta  almost  flew  along  this  coast, 
there  being  no  perceptible  current,  past  ex- 
tensive swamps,  margined  with  thick  flout- 
ing grasses.  At  length,  on  rounding  a  low 
point,  higher  land  again  appeared  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  aud  the  village  of 
Aveyros  hove  in  sight,  in  the  port  of  which 
we  cast  anchor  late  in  the  afternoon. 

Aveyros  is  a  small  settlement,  containing 
only  fourteen  or  fifteen  houses  besides  the 
church  ;  but  it  is  the  place  of  residence  c-f 
the  authorities  of  a  large  district — the  priest 

tU.  de  Paz,  the  subdelegado  of  police  an  i 


703 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


the  Captain  of  the  Trabalhadores.  The  dis- 
trict includes  Pinhel,  which  we  passed  about 
twenty  miles  lower  down  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river.  Five  miles  beyond  Aveyros,  and 
also  on  the  left  bank,  is  the  missionary  vil- 
lage of  Santa  Cruz,  comprising  thirty  or 
forty  families  of  baptized  Mundurucu  In- 
dians, who  are  at  present  under  the  manage- 
ment of  a  Capuchin  Friar,  and  are  indepen- 
dent of  the  Captain  of  Trabalhadores  of 
Aveyros.  The  river  view  from  this  point 
toward  the  south  was  very  grand ;  the 
stream  is  from  two  to  three  miles  broad,  with 
green  islets  resting  on  its  surface,  and  on 
each  side  a  chain  of  hills  stretches  away  in 
long  perspective.  I  resolved  to  stay  here 
for  a  few  weeks  to  make  collections.  On 
landing,  my  first  care  was  to  obtain  a  house 
or  room,  that  I  might  live  ashore.  This  was 
soon  arranged,  the  head  man  of  the  place, 
Captain  Antonio,  having  received  notice  of 
my  coming,  so  that  before  night  all  the  chests 
and  apparatus  I  required  were  housed  and 
put  in  order  for  working. 

I  here  dismissed  Pinto,  who  again  got 
drunk  and  quarrelsome  a  few  hours  after  he 
came  ashore.  He  left  the  next  day,  to  my 
great  relief,  in  a  small  trading  canoe  that 
touched  at  the  place  on  its  way  to  Santarern. 
The  Indian  Maiioel  took  his  leave  at  the 
same  time,  having  engaged  to  accompany  me 
only  as  far  as  Aveyros  ;  I  was  then  depend- 
ent on  Captain  Antonio  for  fresh  hands. 
The  captains  of  Trabalhadores  are  appointed 
by  the  Brazilian  Government,  to  embody  the 
scattered  Indian  laborers  and  canoe-men  of 
their  respective  districts, to  the  end  that  they 
may  supply  passing  travellers  with  men 
when  required.  A  semi-military  organiza- 
tion is  given  to  the  bodies,  some  of  the 
steadiest  among  the  Indians  themselves  being 
nominated  as  sergeants,  and  all  the  members 
mustered  at  the  principal  village  of  their  dis- 
trict twice  a  year.  The  captains,  however, 
universally  abuse  their  authority,  monopo- 
lizing the  service  of  the  men  for  their  own 
purposes,  so  that  it  is  only  by  favor  that  the 
loan  of  a  cano-hand  can  be  wrung  from 
them.  I  was  treated  by  Captain  Antonio 
with  great  consideration,  and  promised  two 
good  Indians  when  I  should  be  ready  to  con- 
linue  my  voyage. 

Little  happened  worth  narrating  during 
my  forty  days'  stay  at  Aveyros.  The  time 
was  spent  in  the  quiet,  regular  pursuit  of 
natural  history  ;  every  morning  I  had  my 
long  ramble  in  the  forest,  which  extended  to 
the  back-doors  of  the  houses,  and  the  after- 
noons were  occupied  in  preserving  and 
studying  the  objects  collected.  The  priest 
•was  a  lively  old  man,  but  rather  a  bore  from 
being  able  to  talk  of  scarcely  anything  ex- 
cept homo3opathy,  having  been  smitten  with 
die  mania  during  a  recent  visit  to  Santarem. 
He  had  a  Portuguese  Homoeopathic  Diction- 
ary, and  a  little  leather  case  containing  glass 
tuoes  filled  with  globules,  with  which  he 
was  doctoring  the  whole  village.  The 
weather,  during  the  month  of  July,  was  un- 
interruptedly fine  ;  not  a  drop  of  rain  fell, 


•and  the  river  sank  rapidly.  The  mornings, 
for  two  hours  after  sunrise,  were  very  cold  ; 
we  were  glad  to  wrap  ourselves  in  blankets 
on  turning  out  of  our  hammocks,  and  walk 
about  at  a  quick  pace  in  the  early  sunshine. 
But  in  the  afternoons  the  heat  was  sicken- 
ing, for  the  glowing  sun  then  shone  full  on 
the  front  of  the  row  of  whitewashed  houses, 
and  there  was  seldom  any  wind  to  moderate 
its  effects.  I  began  now  to  understand  why 
the  branch  rivers  of  the  Amazons  were  so 
unhealthy  while  the  main  stream  was  pretty 
nearly  free  from  diseases  arising  from  mala- 
ria. The  cause  lies,  without  doubt,  in  the 
slack  currents  of  the  tributaries  in  the  dry 
season,  and  the  absence  of  the  cooling  Ama- 
zonian trade-wind,  which  purifies  the  air 
along  the  banks  of  the  main  river.  The 
trade- wind  does  not  deviate  from  its  nearly 
straight  westerly  course,  so  that  the  branch 
streams,  which  run  generally  at  right  angles 
to  the  Amazons,  and  have  a  slack  current 
for  a  long  distance  from  their  mouths,  are 
left  to  the  horrors  of  nearly  stagnant  air  and 
water. 

Aveyros  may  be  called  the  headquarters 
of  the  fire-ant,  which  might  be  fittingly 
termed  the  scourge  of  this  fine  river.  The 
Tapajos  is  nearly  free  from  the  insect  pests 
of  other  parts,  mosquitoes, sand-flies, motiicas, 
and  piums  ;  but  the  formiga  de  fogo  is  per- 
haps a  greater  plague  than  all  the  others  put 
together.  It  is  found  only  en  sandy  soils  in 
open  places,  and  seems  to  thrive  most  in  the 
neighborhood  of  houses  and  weedy  villages 
such  as  Aveyros  :  it  does  not  occur  at  all  in 
the  shades  of  the  forest.  I  noticed  it  in  most 
places  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons,  but  the 
species  is  not  very  common  on  the  main  river, 
and  its  presence  is  there  scarcely  noticed,  be- 
cause it  does  not  attack  man,  and  the  sting  is 
not  so  virulent  as  it  is  in  the  same  species  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tapajos.  Aveyros  was  de- 
serted a  few  years  before  my  visit  on  account 
of  this  little  tormentor,  and  the  inhabitants 
had  only  recently  returned  to  their  houses, 
thinking  its  numbers  had  decreased.  It  is  a 
small  species,  of  a  shining  reddish  color  not 
greatly  differing  from  the  common  red  sting- 
ing ant  of  our  own  country  (Myrmica  rubra), 
except  that  the  pain  and  irritation  caused  by 
its  sting  are  much  greater.  The  soil  of  the 
whole  village  is  undermined  by  it :  the 
ground  is  perforated  with  the  entrances  to 
their  subterranean  galleries,  and  a  little 
sandy  dome  occurs  here  and  there,  where  the 
insects  bring  their  young  to  receive  warmth 
near  the  surface.  The  houses  are  overrun 
with  them  ;  they  dispute  every  fragment  of 
food  with  the  inhabitants,  and  destroy  cloth- 
ing for  the  sake  of  the  starch.  All  eatables 
are  obliged  to  be  suspended  in  baskets  from 
the  rafters,  and  the  cords  well  soaked  with 
copaiiba  balsam,  which  is  the  only  means 
known  of  preventing  them  from  climbing. 
They  seem  to  attack  persons  out  of  sheer 
malice :  if  we  stood  for  a  few  moments  in 
the  street, even  at  a  distance  from  their  nests, 
we  were  sure  to  be  overrun  and  severely 
punished. f  or  the  moment  an  unt  i  ached  the 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


70S 


Slesh    he    secured  himself   with  his  laws,  by  our  host  going  over  in  a  large  boat,  I 

doubled  in  his  tail,  and  stung  with  all  his  crossed  to  go  in  search  of  it.  We  were  about 

might.     When  we  were  seated  on  chairs  in  twenty  persons  in  all,  and  the  boat  was  an 

the  evenings  in  front  of  the  house  to  enjoy  a  old  rickety  affair,  with  the  gaping  seams 

chat  with  our  neighbors,  we  had  stools  to  rudely  stuffed  with  tow  and  pitch.     In  addi- 

support  our  feet,  the  legs  of  which,  as  well  lion  to  the  human  freight  we  took  three  sheep 

as   those  of  the  chairs,  were  well  anointed  with  us,  whie1!  Captain  Antonio  had  just  re- 
with  the  balsam.     The  cords  of  hammocks 


are  obliged  to  be  smeared  in  the  same  way  to 
prevent  the  ants  from  paying  sleepers  a  visit. 
The  inhabitants  declare  that  the  fire-ant 
was  unknown  on  the  Tapajos  before  the  dis- 
orders of  1835-6,  and  believe  that  the  hosts 
sprang  up  from  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered 
Cabanas  or  rebels.  They  have,  doubtless, 
increased  since  that  time,  but  the  cause  lies 
in  the  depopulation  of  the  villages  nnd  the 
rank  growth  of  weeds  in  the  previously 


ceived  from  Santarem,  and  was  going  to  add 
to  his  new  cattle  farm  on  the  other  side.  Ten 
Indian  paddlers  carried  us  quickly  across. 
The  breadth  of  the  river  could  not  be  less 
than  thiee  miles,  and  the  current  was  scarce- 
ly perceptible.  When  a  boat  has  to  cross 
the  main  Amazons  it  is  obliged  to  ascend 
along  the  banks  for  half  a  mile  or  more  to  al- 
low for  drifting  by  the  current ;  in  this  lower 
part  of  the  Tapajos  this  is  not  necessary. 
When  about  half  way,  the  sheep,  in  moving' 
I  have  already  about,  kicked  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat.  The  passengers  took  the  matter  very 


cleared,  well-kept  spaces. 

•described  the  line  of  sediment  formed,  on  the _  ^ <_, 

sandy  shores  lower  down  the  river,  by  the  coolly,  although  the  water  spouted  up  Miami- 
dead  bodies  of  the  winged  individuals  of  this  ingly,  and  I  thought  we  should  inevitably  be 
species.  The  exodus  from  their  nests  of  the  swamped.  Captain  Antonio  took  off  his 
males  and  females  takes  place  at  the  end  of  socks  to  stop  the  leak,  inviting  me  and  the 


the  rainy  season  (June),  when  the  swarms 
are  blown  into  the  river  by  squalls  of  wind, 
and  subsequently  cast  ashore  by  the  waves. 


same  compact  heap  of  dead  bodies,  which  I 
saw  only  in  part,  extends  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  for  twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 


The  forest  behind  Aveyros  yielded  me  little    banks,  hidden  among  the  dense  woods,  were 


except  insects,  but  in  tnese  it  was  very  rich. 
It  is  not  too  dense,  and  broad  sunny  paths, 
skirted  by  luxuriant  beds  of  Lycopodiums, 
which  form  attractive  sporting  places  for  in 


the  houses  of  a  few  Indian  and  mameluco 
settlers.  The  path  to  the  cattle  farm  led  first 
through  a  tract  of  swampy  forest ;  it  then 
ascended  a  slope  and  emerged  on  a  fine  sweep 


must  have  descended  to  the  ground  from  the 
neighboring  forest,  and  walked  some  dis- 
tance to  get  at  it.  The  species  is  sometimes 


kept  in  a  lame  state  by  the  natives  :  it  does    mon  light-brown  allied  species  (Cebus  albi- 


not  make  a  very  amusing  pet,  and  survives 
captivity  only  a  short  time. 

I  heard  that  the  white  Cebus,  the  Caiarara 
hranca,  a  kind  of  monkey  I  had  not  yet  seen, 
and  wished  very  much  to  obtain,  inhabited 
the  forests  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  ; 


fions?),  and  killed  one  as  a  specimen.  A. 
resident  on  this  side  of  the  river  told  us  that 
the  white  kind  was  found  farther  to  thr 
south,  beyond  Santa  Cruz.  The  light-browi. 
Caiarara  is  pretty  generally  distributed  ovei 
the  forests  of  the  level  country.  I  saw  it  very 


Juiz  de  Paz,  who  was  one  of  'he  party,  to  do 
the  same,  while  two  Indians  baled  out  the 
water  with  large  cuyas.  We  thus  managed 


I  was  told-that  this  wholesale  destruction  of   to  keep  afloat  until  we  reached  our  destina- 
ant-life  takes  place  annually,  and  that  the    tion,  when  the  men  patched  up  the  leak  for 


our  return  journey. 

The   landing-place   lay  a   short  *  distance 
within  the  mouth  of  a  shady  inlet,  on  whose 


sects,  extend  from  the  village  to  a  swampy  of  prairie,  varied  with   patches  of  timber, 

hollow  or  ygapo,  which  lies  about  a  mile  in-  The  wooded  portion   occupied  the  hollows  « 

land.     Of    butterflies    alone    I    enumerated  where  the  soil  was  of  a  rich  chocolate-brow r 

fully  300  species,  captured  or  seen  in  the  color,  and  of  a  peaty  nature.      The  higher 

course  of  forty  days,  within  a  half-hour's  grassy,  undulating  parts  of  the  campohada 

walk  of  the  village.      This  is  a  greater  num-  lighter  and  more  sandy  soil.      Leaving  oui 

ber  than  is  found  in  the  whole  of  Europe,  friends,  1  and  Jose  took  our  guns  and  dived 

The  only  monkey  I  observed  was  the  Calli-  into  the  woods  in  search  of  the  monkeys.  As 

thiix  moloch,  one  of  the  kinds  called  by  the  we  walked  rapidly  along  I  was   very  near  '> 

Indians  Whaiapu-sai.    It  is  a  moderate-sized  treading  on  a  rattlesnake,  which  lay  stretched 

species,  clothed  with  long  brown  hair,  and  out  nearly  in  a  straight  line  on  the  bare  sandy 

having  hands  of  a  whitish  hue.     Although  pathway.     It  made  no  movement  to  get  out 

nearly  nllierl  to  the  Cebi,  it  has  none  of  their  of  the  way,  and  I  escaped  the  danger  by  a 

res: less  vivacity,  but  is  a  dull,  listless  animal,  timely  and   sudden   leap,   being   unable  \A  : 

It  goes  in  small  flocks  of  five  or  six  individ-  check  my  steps  in  the  hurried  walk.      Wfe  ',• 

iwls,  running  along  the  main  boughs  of  the  tried  to  excite  the  sluggish  reptile  by  throw-  , 

I  rees.     One  of    the  specimens  which  I  ob-  ing  handfuls  of  sand  and  sticks  at  it,  but  the 

tained  here  w  is  caught  on  a  low  fruit-tree  at  only  notice  it  took  was  to  raise  its  ugly  horny 

(lie  back  of  our  house  at  sunrise  one  morn-  tail  and  shake  its  rattle.     At  length  it  began 

i:ig.     This  was  the  only  infttance  of  a  nvm-  to  move  rather  nimbly,  when  we  dispatched 

k?y  being  captured  in  such  a  position  that  I  it  by  a  blow  on  the  head  with  a  pole,  not 

beard  of.     As  the  tree  was  isolated,  it  wishing  to  fire  on  account  of  alarming  our 

game. 

We  saw  nothing  of   the  white  Caiar&ra ; 

we  met,  however,  with  a  flock  of  the  com- 


*o  one  d;.y,  on  an  opportunity  being  aff ord$ds*feequently  on  the  banks  of  the  \Toper  Amu- 


704 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


zons,  where  it  was  always  a  treat  to  watch  a    the  v? liite  Cebus.     We  crossed  over  first  to* 
flock  leaping  among  the  trees,  for  it  is  the    the  mission  village,  Santa  Cruz,  which  con- 
most  wonderful  performer  in  this  line  of  the    sists  of  30  or  40  wretched-looking  mud  huts, 
whule  tribe.     The  troops  consist  of  thirty  or    closely  built  together  in  three  straight  ugjy 
more  individuals,  which  travel  in  single  file,     rows  on  a  high  gravelly  bank.  The  place  waa  . 
When  the  foremost  of  the  flock  reaches  the    deserted,  witli  the  exception  of  two  or  three 
outermost  branch  of  an  unusually  lofty  tree    old  men  and  women  and  a  few  children.     A 
he  springs  forth  into  the  air  without  a  mo-    narrow  belt  of  wood  runs  behind  the  village  i 
ment's  hesitation,  and  alights  on  the  dome  of    beyond  this  is  an  elevated  barren  campo- 
yieldiug  foliage  belonging  to  the  neighboring    with  a  clayey  and  gravdiy  soil.     To  thi, 
tree,  maybe    fifty  feet,  beneath,  all  tne  rest    south  the  coast  country  is  of  a  similar  de- 
following  the  example.     They  grasp,  on  fall-    scription  ;    a  succession  of  scantily-wooded 
ing,  with  hands  and  tail,  right  themselves  in    hills,  bare  grassy  spaces,  and  richly-timbered 
a  moment,  and  then    away   they  go  along    hollows.     We  traversed  forest  and  campo  in 
branch  and  bough  to  the  next  tree.       The    various  directions  during  three  days  whh- 
Caiararaowesits^name  in  the  Tupi  language,    out  meeting  with  monkeys,  or  indeed  with 
inacaw  or  large-headed    (Acain,   head,  and    anything  that  repaid  us  the  lime  and  trouble. 
Arara  macaw),  to  the  disproportionate  size    The  soil  of  the  district  appeared  too  dry  ;  at 
of  the  head  compared  with  the  rest  of  the    this  season  of  the  year  1  hud  noticed,  in  other 
body.     It  is  very  frequently  kept  as  a  pet  in    parts  of  the  country,  that  mammals  and  biids  - 
houses  of  natives.     I  kept  one  myself  for    resorted  to  the  more  humid  areas  of  forest ; 
about  a  year,  which  accompanied  me  in  my    we  therefore  proceeded  to  explore  carefully 
voyages  and  became  very  familiar,  coming    the  low  and  partly  swampy  tract,  along  the 
to  me  always  on  wet   nights  to  share  my    coast  to  the  north  of  Santa  Cruz.     We  spent . 
blanket,     fe  is  a  most  restless  creature,  but    two  days    in    this  way,    landing  at  many 
is  not  playful  like  most  of  the  American    places,  and  penetrating  a  good   distance  in 
monkevs,  the  restlessness  of  its  disposition    the  interior.       Although  unsuccessful  with 
seeming  to  arise  from  great  nervous  irrita-    regard  to  the  white  Cebus,  the  time  was  not 
bility  and  discontent.      The  anxious,  pain-    who'.ly  lost,  as  I  added  several  small  birds  of 
Jul,  and  changeable  expression  of  its  counte-    species  new  to  my  collection.  On  the  second 
nance,  and  the  want  of  purpose  in  its  move-    evening  we  surprised  a  laige  flock,  composed 
ments,  betray  this.    Its  actions  are  like  those    of  about  fifty  individuals,  of  a  curious  eagle  = 
of  a  wayward  child  ;  it  does  not  seem  happy    with  a  very  long  and  slender  hooked  beak, 
even  when  it  has  plenty  of  its  favorite  food,    the  Rostrlnmus  hamatus.  The  were  perched 
bananas  ;  but  will  leave  its  own    meal   to    on  fche  bushes  which  surrounded  a  shallow 
snatch  the  morsels  out  of  the  hands  of  its   lagoon,  separated  from  the  river  by  a  belt  of 
companions     It  differs  in  these  mental  traits   floadng  grass  ;  my  men  said  they  fed  on  toads  .. 
from  its  nearest  Kindred,  for  another  com-   and  lizards  found  at  the  margins  of  pools, 
uioii  Cebus,  found  in  the  same  parts  of  the   They  formed  a  beautiful  sight  as  they  flew 
forest,  the  Prego  monkey  (Cebus  cirrhifer?),    up  and  wheeled  about  at  a  gieat  height  in 
is  a  much  quieter  and  better-tempered  ani-    the  air.     We  obtained  only  one  specimen, 
mal  ;  it  is  full  of  tricks,  but  these  are  gener-       Before  returning  to  Aveyros  we  paid  an 
ally  of  a  playful  character.  other  visit  to  the  Jacare  inlet,  leading   to 

The  Caiarara  keeps  the  house  in  a  perpet-  Captain  Antonio's  cattle  farm,  for  the  sake 
ual  uproar  where  it  is  kept.  When  alaimed,  of  securing  further  specimens  of  the  many 
or  hungry,  or  excited  by  envy,  it  screams  rare  and  handsome  insects  found  there,  land- 
piteously  ;  it  is  always,  however,  making  ing  at  the  port  of  one  of  the  settlers.  The 
some  noise  or  other,  often  screwing  up  its  owner  of  the  house  was  nofat  home,  and  the 
mouth  and  uttering  a  succession  of  loud  notes  wife,  a  buxom  young  woman,  a  dark  maine- 
resernblmg  a  whistle.  My  little  pet,  when  luco,  with  clear  though  dark  complexion  and 
loose,  used  to  run  after  me,  supporting  itself  fine  rosy  cheeks,  was  preparing,  in  company 
for  some  distance  on  its  hind  legs,  without,  with  another  stout-built  Amazon,  her  rod 
however,  having  been  taught  to  do  it.  He  »nd  lines  to  go  out  fishing  for  the  day's  din- 
offended  me  greatly  one  day  by  killing,  in  ner.  It  was  now  the  season  for  Tucunares. 
one  of  his  jealous'  fits,  another  and  much  and  Senhora  Joaquiaa  showed  us  the  fly 
choicer  pet — the  nocturnal  owl-faced  mon-  baits  used  to  take  this  kind  offish,  which  she 
iey  (Nyctipithecus  trivirgatus)  Some  one  had  made  with  her  own  hands  of  parrots' 
had  given  this  a  fruit,  which  the  other  cov-  feathers.  The  rods  used  are  slender  bam- 
eted,  so  the  two  got  to  quarrelling.  TheNyc-  boos,  and  the  lines  made  from  the  fibres  of 
tipithecus  fought  only  with  its  paws,  clawing  pineapple  leaves.  It  is  not  very  comzaoa 
out  and  hissing  like  a  cat ;  the  other  soon  for  the  Indian  and  half-caste  women  to  pro- 
obtained  the  mastery,  and  before  I  could  in-  vide  for  themselves  in  the  way  these  spirited 
terfere  finished  his  rival  by  cracking  its  skull  dames  were  doing,  although  they  are  all  ex, 
with  his  teeth.  Upon  this  I  got  rid  of  him.  pert  paddlers,  and  very  frequently  cross  wide 
After  I  had  obtained  the  two  men  prom-  rivers  in  their  frail  boats  without  the  aid  oi 
33fd,  stout  young  Indians,  17  or  18  years  of  men.  It  is  possible  that  parties  of  Indiac 
age,  one  named  Ricardo  and  the  other  Alber-  women,  seen  travelling  alone  in  this  manner, . 
to,  I  paid  a  second  visit  to  the  western  side  may  have  given  rise  to  the  fable  of  a  nation 
of  the  river  iv  my  own  canoe,  being  deter-  of  Amazons,  invented  by  the  fir*t  Spanish 
mined,  if  possible,  to  obtain  specinitns  of  ^xolorers  of  the  country.  Senhora  Joa^uina  - 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


705 


anvited  me  and  JosS  to  a  Tucunare  dinner 
for  the  afternoon,  and  then,  shouldering 
^heir  paddles  aud  tucking  up  their  skirts,  the 
two  dusky  fisherwomen  marched  down  to 
•their  canoe.  We  sent  the  two  Indians  into 
'the  woods  to  cut  palm  leaves  to  mend  the 
thatch  of  our  cuberta,  while  I  and  Jos6  ram- 
'bled  through  the  woods  which  skirted  the 
oampo.  On  our  return  we  found  a  most 
bountiful  spread  in  the  house  of  our  hostess. 
A  spotless  white  cloth  was  laid  on  the  mat, 
with  a  plate  for  each  guest,  and  a  pile  of  fra- 
grant newly-made  farinha  by  the  side  of  it. 
The  boiled  Tucunares  were  soon  taken  from 
1he  kettles  and  set  before  us.  1  thought  the 
men  must  be  happy  husbands  who  owned 
such  wives  as  these.  The  Indian  and  mame- 
luco  women  certainly  do  make  excellent 
jnanagers  ;  they  are  more  industrious  than 
Jhe  men,  and  most  of  them  manufacture 
farinha  for  sale  on  their  own  account,  their 
credit  always  standing  higher  with  the  trad- 
ers on  the  river  than  that  of  thoir  male  con- 
nections. I  was  quite  surprised  at  the  quan- 
tity of  fish  they  had  taken,  there  being  suffi- 
cient for  the  whole  party,  including  several 
-children,  two  old  men  from  a  neighboring 
hut,  and  my  Indians.  I  made  our  good-nat- 
ured entertainers  a  small  present  of  needles 
»nd  sewing-cotton,  articles  very  much 
prized,  and  soon  after  we  re-embarked,  and 
again  crossed  the  river  to  Aveyros. 

August  2d. — Left  Aveyros,  having  re- 
solved to  ascend  a  branch  river,  the  Cupari, 
"which  enters  the  Tapajos  about  eight  miles 
above  this  village,  instead  of  going  forward 
along  the  main  stream.  I  should  have  liked 
1o  visit  the  settlements  of  the  Mundurucu 
tribe,  which  lie  beyond  the  first  cataract  of 
the  Tapajos,  if  it  had  been  compatible  with 
the  other  objects  I  had  in  view.  But  to  per- 
form this  journey  a  lighter  canoe  than  mine 
^would  have  been  necessary,  and  six  or  eight 
Indian  paddlers,  which  in  my  case  it  was 
utterly  impossible  to  obtain.  There  would 
be,  however,  au  opportunity  of  seeing  this 
fine  race  of  people  on  the  Cupari,  as  a  horde 
was  located  toward  the  head- waters  of  this 
stream.  The  distance  from  Aveyros  to  the 
last  civilized  settlement  on  the  Tapajos,  Itai- 
tiiba,  is  about  forty  miles.  The  falls  com- 
mence a  short  distance  beyond  this  place. 
"Ten  formidable  cataracts  or  rapids  then  suc- 
ceed each  other  at  intervals  of  a  few  miles, 
•Hie  chief  of  which  are  the  Coaita,  the 
Bubure,  the  Salto  Grande  (about  thirty  feet 
nigh),  and  the  Montanha.  The  canoes  of 
Oiiyaba  tradesmen  which  descend  annually 
to  Santarem  are  obliged  to  be  unloaded  at 
each  of  these,  and  the  cargoes  carried  by 
land  on  the  backs  of  Indians,  while  the 
empty  vessels  are  dragged  by  ropes  over  the 
obstructions.  The  Cupari  was  described  to 
me  as  flowing  through  a  rich,  moist,  clayey 
valley,  covered  with  forests,  and  abounding 
in  game,  while  the  banks  of  the  Tapajos  be- 
yond Aveyros  were  barren  sandy  campus, 
with  ranges  of  naked  or  scantily- wooded 
hills,  forming  a  kini  of  country  which  I  had 
always  found  very  unproductive  in  Natural 


History  objects  in  the  dry  season,  which  had 
now  set  in. 

We  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Cupari  on 
the  evening  of  the  following  day  (August 
3d).  It  was  not  more  than  100  yards  wide, 
but  very  deep  ;  we  found  no  bottom  in  the 
middle  with  a  line  of  eight  fathoms.  The 
banks  were  gloriously  wooded,  the  familiar 
foliage  of  the  cacao  growing  abundantly 
among  the  mass  of  other  trees,  reminding  me 
of  the  forests  of  the  main  Amazons.  We 
*  rowed  for  five  or  six  miles,  generally  in  a 
southeasterly  direction,  although  the  river 
t  had  many  abrupt  bends,  and  stopped  for  the 
'  night  at  a  settler's  house,  situated  on  a  high 
bank,  and  accessible  only  by  a  flight  of  rude 
•wooden  steps  fixed  in  the  clayey  slope.  The 
owners  were  two  brothers,  half-breeds,  who 
with  their  families  shared  the  large  roomy 
dwelling  ;  one  of  them  was  a  blacksmith,  and 
we  found  him  working  with  two  Indian  lads 
at  his  forge,  in  an  open  shed  under  the  shade 
of  mango  trees.  They  were  the  sons  of  a 
Portuguese  immigrant,  who  had  settled  here 
forty  years  previously,  and  married  a  Mun- 
durucu  woman.  He  must  have  been  a  far 
more  industrious  man  than  the  majority  of  his 
countrymen  who  emigrate  to  Brazil  nowa- 
days,  for  there  were  signs  of  former  exten- 
sive  cultivation  at  the  back  of  the  house,  in 
groves  of  orange,  lemon,  and  coffee  trees, 
and  a  large  plantation  of  cacao  occupied  the 
lower  grounds. 

The  next  morning  one  of  the  brothers 
brought  me  a  beautiful  opossum,  which  had 
been  caught  in  the  fowl- house  a  little  before 
sunrise.  It  was  not  so  large  as  a  rat.  and 
had  soft  brown  fur,  paler  beneath  and  on  the 
face,  with  a  black  stripe  on  each  cheek.  This 
made  the  third  species  of  marsupial  rat  I 
had  so  far  obtained  ;  but  the  number  of  these 
animals  is  very  considerable  in  Brazil,  where 
they  take  the  place  of  the  shrews  of  Europe, 
shrew  mice  and,  indeed,  the  wiiole  of  the  in-  • 
sectivorous  order  of  mammal «  being  entirely 
absent  from  Tropical  America,  One  kind  ot 
these  rat-like  opossums  is  aquatic,  and  has 
webbed  feet.  The  terrestrial  species  are  noc-( 
turnal  in  their  habits,  sleeping  during  the  day , 
in  hollow  trees,  and  coming  forth  at  night  to 
prey  on  birds  in  their  roosting  places.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  rear  poultry  in  this  country, » 
on  account  of  these  small  opossums,  scarcely 
a  night  passing,  in  some  parts,  in  which  the 
fowls  are  not  attacked  by  them. 

August  5th.—  The  river  reminds  me  of 
some  parts  of  the  Jaburu  channel,  being 
hemmed  in  by  two  walls  of  forest,  rising  to 
the  height  of  at  least  100  feet,  aud  the  out- 
lines of  the  trees  being  concealed  throughout 
by  a  dense  curtain  of  leafy  creepers.  The 
impression  of  vegetable  profusion  and  over*, 
whelming  luxuriance  increases  at  every  step*' 
the  deep  and  narrow  valley  of  the  Cupanf 
has  a  moister  climate  than  the  banks  of  the 
Tapajos.  We  have  now  frequent  showeraJ 
whereas  we  left  everything  parched  up  by^ 
the  sun  at  Aveyros. 

After  leaving  the  last  sitio  we  advanced 
about  eight  miles,  and  then  stopped  at  the 


706 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


house   of   Senhor    Antonio    Malagueita,    a 
mameluco  settler  whom  we  had  been  recom- 
mended to  visit.  His  house  and  outbuildings 
were  extensive,  the    grounds  well  weeded, 
and  the  whole  wore  au  air  of  comfort  and 
well-being  which  is  very  uncommon  in  this 
country.      A  bank  of  indurated  while  clay 
sloped  gently  up  from  *he  tree-shaded  port  to 
the  house,  and  beds  of  kitchen-  barbs  extended 
on  each  side,  with  (rare  sight  !)  rose  and  jas- 
mine trees  in  full  bloom.     Senhpr  Antonio,  a 
rather  tall  iniddle-aged  man,  with  a  counte- 
nance beaming  with  good  nature,  came  down 
to  the  port  as  soon  as  we  anchored.     I  was 
quite  a  stranger  to  him,  but  he  had  heard  of 
my  coming,  and  seemed  to  have  made  prep- 
arations.    I  never  met  with  a  heartier  wel- 
come.   On  entering  the  house,  the  wife,  who 
had  more  of  the  Indian  tint  ajnd  features 
than  her  husbanl,  was    equally  warm  and 
frank  in  her  greeting.     I  stayed  here  two 
days.      We   had  together  several  long  and 
successful  rambles  along  a  narrow  pathway 
which  extended  several  miles  into  the  foiest. 
1  here  met  with  a  new  insect,  pest,  one  which 
the  nati\es  may  be  tuankfui  is  not  spread 
more  widely  over  the  country  ;  it  was  a  large 
brown  fly  of   the  Tabanidse    family  (genus 
Pangonia)  with  a  proboscis  half  an  inch  long 
and  sharper  than  the  finest  needle.    It  settled 
on  our  backs  by  twos  and  threes  at  a  time, 
and  pricked  us  through  our  thick  cotton 
shirts,  making  us  start  and  cry  out  with  the 
sudden  'pam.     I  secured  a  dozen  or  two  as 
specimens.     As  an  instance  of  the  extremely 
confined  ranges  of  certain  species,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  1  did  not  find  this  insect  in 
any  oLher  part  of  the  country,  except  along 
half  a  mile  or  so  of  this  gloomy  foiest  road. 
We  were  amused  at  the  excessive  and  almost 
absurd  tameness  of  a  fine  Mutum  or  Curas- 
sow  turkey  that  ran  about  the  house.    It  was 
a  large  glossy-black  species  (the  Mitu  tube- 
rosa),  having  an  orange- colored   beak,  sur- 
mounted by  a  bean-shaped  excrescence  of  the 
same  hue.     It  seemed  to  consider  itself  as 
one  of  the  family  :  attended  at  all  the  meals, 
passing  from  one  person  to  another  round 
'  the  mat  to  be  fed,  and  rubbing  the  sides  of 
its  head  in  a    coaxing    way    against  their 
cheeks  or  shoulders.     At  night  it  went  to 
roost  on  a  chest  in  a  sleeping-room  beside  the 
'  aammock  of  one  of  the  little  girls,  to  whom 
it  seemed  particularly  attached,  following  her 
'wherever    she  went  about  the  grounds.     I 
found  this  kind  of  Currasow  bird  was  very, 
'common  in  the  forests  of  the  Cupari  ;  but  it 
js  rare  on  the   Upper   Amazons,  where  an 
allied  species,  which  has  a  round  instead  of  a 
bean-sliuped  waxen  excrescence  on  the  beak 
(Grax    globicera),    is    the    prevailing    kind. 
These  birds  in  their  natural  state  never  de- 
scend   from  the  tops  of  the   loftiest  trees, 
'where  they  live  in  small  flocks  and  build  their 
nests.     The  Mitu  tuberosa  lays  two  rough- 
Bhelled  white  eggs  ;  it  is  fully  as  large  a  bird 
as  the  common  turkey,  but  the  flesh  when 
cooked  is  drier  and  not  so  well  flavored.    It 
\a  difficult   to  find  the  reason  why  these  su- 
iJerb  birds  have  not  been  reduced  to  dornesfc- 


cation  by  the  Indians,  seeing  that  they  so. 
readily  become  tame.  The  obstacle  offered 
by  their  not  breeding  hi  connm mint,  which  . 
is  probably  owing  to  their  aibouul  habits, 
might  perhaps  be  overcome  by  repeated  ex- 
penment  ;  but  for  this  the  Indians  probably 
had  not  sufficient  patience  or  intelligence. 
The  reason  cannot  lie  in  their  insensibility  to 
the  value  of  such  biids  ;  for  the  common 
turkey,  which  has  been  introduced  into  tLe 
country,  is  much  prized  by  them. 

We  had  an  unwelcome  visitor  while  at 
anchor  in  the  port  of  Antonio  Malagueita.  I 
was  awoke  a  little  after  midnight,  as  I  lay  in 
my  little  cabin,  by  a  heavy  blow  struck  at  the 
sides  of  the  canoe  close  to  my  head,  which 
was  succeeded  by  the  sound  of  a  weighty 
body  plunging  in  the  water.  I  got  up  ;  but 
all  was  again  quiet,  except  the  cackle  of 
fowls  in  our  hen-coop,  which  hung  over  the  : 
side  of  the  vessel,  about  three  feet  from  the 
cabin  door.  I  could  find  no  explanation  of 
the  circumstance,  and,  my  men  being  all 
ashore,  I  turned  in  again  and  slept  till  morn- 
ing. I  then  found  my  poultry  loose  about 
the  canoe,  and  a  large 'rent  in  the  bottom  of 
the  hen-coop,  which  was  about  two  feet  from 
the  suiface  of  the  water  :  a  couple  of  fowls. 
were  missing.  Senhor  Antonio  said  the  dep- 
redator was  a  Sucuruju  (ihe  Indian  name 
for  the  Anaconda,  or  great  water  serpent, 
Eunectes  murinus),  which  had  for  uiouihs 
past  been  haunting  this  part  of  the  river,  and 
had  carried  off  many  ducks  and  fowls  from 
the  ports  of  various  houses.  I  was  inclined 
to  doubt  the  fact  of  a  serpent  striking  at  its 
prey  from  the  water,  ana  thought  an  alli- 
gator more  likely  to  be  the  culprit,  although 
we  had  not  yet  met  with  alligators  in  the 
river.  Some  days  afterward  the  young  men 
belonging  to  the  different  sitios  agreed  to- 
gether to  go  in  search  of  the  serpent.  They 
began  in  a  systematic  manner,  forming  two 
parties,  each  embarked  in  thiee  or  four 
canoes,  and  starting  from  points  several  miles 
apart,  whence  they  gradually  approximated, 
searching  all  the  little  inlets  on  both  sides  the 
river.  The  reptile  was  found  at  last,  sun 
ning  itself  on  a  log  at  the  mouth  of  a  muddy 
rivulet,  and  dispatched  with  harpoons.  1 
saw  it  the  day  after  it  was  killed  :  it  was  not 
a  very  large  specimen,  measuring  only  eigh- 
teen feet  nine  inches  in  length,  and  sixteen 
inches  in  circumference  at  the  widest  part  of 
the  body.  I  measured  skins  of  the  Anacon, 
da  afterward,  twenty-one  feet  in  length  and 
two  feet  in  girth.  The  reptile  has  a  in  >st 
hideous  appearance,  owing  to  its  being  very 
broad  in  the  middle,  and  tapering  abruptly 
at  both  ends.  It  is  very  abundant  in  some 
parts  of  the  country,  nowhere  more  so  than 
in  the  Lago  Grande,  near  Santarein,  where  it 
is  often  seen  coiled  up  in  the  corners  of  farm- 
yards, and  is  detested  for  its  habit  of  carry- 
ing off  poultry,  young  calves,  or  whatever 
animal  it  can  get  within  reach  of. 

At  Ega  a  large  Anaconda  was  once  near 
making  a  rneal  of  a  young  lad  abuuc  ten  years 
of  age7  belonging  to  one  of  my  neighbors. 
'£|ie  father  and  his  son  went,  as  was  their  - 


NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


?or 


H  tew  miles  up  the  Teffe  to  gather 
wild  fruit ;  landing  on  a  sloping  sandy  shore, 
where  the  bay  was  left  to  mind  the  canoe 
while  the  man  entered  the  forest.  The 
beaches  of  the  Teffa  form  groves  of  wild 
guava  and  myrtle  trees,  and  during  most 
months  of  the  year  are  partly  overflown  by 
the  river.  While  the  boy  was  playing  in  the 
water  under  the  shade  of  these  trees,  a  huge 
reptile  of  this  species  stealthily  wound  its 
coils  around  him,  unperceived  until  it.  was 
too  late  to  escape.  His  cries  brought  the 
father  quickly  to  the  rescue,  who  rushed  for- 
ward, and  seizing  the  Anaconda  boldly  by 
the  head,  tore  his  jaws  asunder.  There  ap- 
psars  to  be  no  doubt  that  this  formidable 
serpent  grows  to  an  enormous  bulk,  and  lives 
to  a  great  age,  for  I  heard  of  specimens  hav- 
ing been  killed  which  measured  forty-two 
feet  in  length,  or  double  the  size  of  the  larg- 
est I  had  an  opportunity  of  examining.  The 
natives  of  the  Atnazons  country  universally 
believe  in  the  existence  of  a  monster  water- 
serpent,  said  to  be  many  score  fathoms  in 
length,  which  appears  successively  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  river.  They  call  it  the  Mai 
d'agoa — the  mother,  or  spirit,  of  the  water. 
This  fable,  which  was  doubtless  suggested 
by  the  occasional  appearance  of  Sucurujiisof 
unusually  large  size,  takes  a  great  variety  of 
forms  and  the  wild  legends  form  the  subject 
of  conversation  am  mg  old  and  young,  over 
the  wood  fires  in  lonely  settlements. 

Augmt  6th  and  1th. — On  leaving  the  sitio 
of  Antonia  Malagueita  we  continued  our  way 
along  the  windings  of  the  river,  generally  in 
a  south-east  and  south-south-east  direction, 
but  som^timys  due  north,  for  about  fifteen 
miles,  when  we  stopped  at  the  house  of  one 
Paulo  Christo,  a  mameluco  whose  acquaint- 
ance I  had  made  at  Aveyros.  Here  we  spent 
the  night  and  part  of  the  next  day,  doing  in 
*,he  morning  a  good  five  hours'  work  in  the 
forest,  accompanied  by  the  owner  of  the 
tface.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  we  were 
igain  under  w^igh  :  the  river  makes  a  bend 
o  the  east-north-east  for  a  short '.distance 
ibove  Paulo  Uhnsto's  esta1  Ushment,  it  then 
turns  abruptly  to  the  south- , vest,  running 
from  that  direction  about  four  miles.  The 
hilly  country  of  the  interior  then  com- 
mences, the  first  token  of  it  being  a  magnifi- 
cently wooded  bluff,  rising  nearl^r  straight 
from  the  water  to  a  height  of  about  250  feet. 
The  breadth  of  the  stream  hereabout  was  not 
more  than  sixty  yards,  and  the  forest  as- 
sumed a  new  appearance,  from  the  abun- 
dance of  the  Urucuri  palm,  a  spec'es  which 
has  a  noble  crown  of  broad  fronds,  with  sym- 
metrical rigid  leaflets. 

Yf.3  reached,  in'  the  evening,  the  house  of 
the  keif,  civilized  settler  on  the  river,  Senhor 
Joao  (John)  'Aractf,  a  wiry,  active  fellow  and 
capital  hunter,  whom  I  wished  to  make  a 
friend  of  and  persuade  to  accompany  me  t;> 
the  Mundurucu  village  and  the  fulls  of  thj 
Cupari,  some  forty  miles  further  up  the 
river. 

I  stayed  at  the  sitio  of  J[ohu  Aiacti  until 
the  19ik  uut 


fourteen  days  at  the  same  place.  The  situa- 
tion was  most  favorable  for  collecting  the 
natural  products  of  the  district.  The  forest 
was  not  crowded  with  underwood,  and  path- 
ways fed  through  it  for  many  miles  and  in : 
various  directions.  1  could  make  no  use- 
here  of  our  two  men  as  hunters,  so,  to  keep- 
them  employed,  while  Jose  and  I  worked 
daily  in  the  woods,  I  set  them  to  make  a, 
moutaria  under  John  Aracii's  directions. 
The  first  day  a  suitable  tree  was  found  for 
the  shell  of  the  boat,  of  the  kind  calleu 
Italiba  amarello,  the  yellow  variety  of  I  he 
stone- wood.  They  felled  it,  and  shaped  out. 
of  the  trunk  a  log  nineteen  feet  in  length  ;.. 
this  they  dragged  from  the  forest  with  tlm 
help  of  my  host's  men,  over  a,  road  they  bad 
previously  made  with  cylindrical  pieces  of 
wood  to  act  as  rollers.  The  distance  was 
about  half  a  mile,  and  the  rope  used  for  draw- 
ing the  heavy  load  was  tough  lianas  cut  from 
the  surrounding  trees.  This  part  of  the  work 
occupied  about  a  week  ;  the  log  had  then  to 
be  hollowed  out,  which  was  done  with  strong 
chisels  through  a  slit  made  down  the  whole 
length.  The  heavy  portion  of  the  task  being 
then  completed,  nothing  remained  but  to 
widen  the  opening,  fit  two  planks  for  the 
sides,  and  the  same  number  of  semicircular 
boards  for  the  ends,  make  the  benches,  yd, 
calk  the  seams. 

The  expanding  of  the  log  thus  hollowed 
out  is  a  critical  operation,  and  not  always/- 
successful,  many  a  good  shell  being  spoilt 
by  its  splitting  or  expanding  irregularly.  It  is 
first  reared  on  trestle,  with  the  slit  down- 
ward, over  a  large  fire,  which  is  k«pt  up  for 
icveu  or  eight  hours,  the  process  requiring 
unremitting  attention  to  %void  cracks  and. 
make  the  plank  bend  with  the  proper  dip  at 
the  two  ends.  Wooden  straddlers,  made  by 
cleaving  pieces  of  tough  elastic  wood  anj  fix- 
ing them  with  wedges,  are  inserted  into  the- 
opening,  their  compass  being  altered  gradu- 
ally as  the  work  goes  on,  but  in  different 
degree  according  to  the  part  of  the  boat 
operated  upon.  Ourcasca  turned  --nita  good 
one :  it  took  a  long  time  to  cool,  cud  Was 
kept  in  shape  while  it  did  so  by  means  of 
wooden  crosspieces.  When  the  boat  was- 
finished,  it  was  launched  with  great  merri- 
ment by  the  men,  Who  hoisted  colored  hand- 
kerchiefs for  flags,  and  paddled  it  up  an  I 
down  the  stream  to  try  its  capabilities.  My 
people  had  suffered  as  much  inconvenience 
from  the  want  of  a  mpntaria  as  myself,  so  - 
this  was  a  day  of  rejoicing  to  all  of  us. 

I  was  very  successful  at  this  place  with  re- 
gard to  the  objects  of  iny  journey.     About 
twenty  new  species  of  fishes  uod  a  consider- 
able number  of  small  reptiles  were  added  to 
my  collection  ;  but  very  few  birds  were  ni6t 
with  worth  preserving.  A  great  number  bf  th'e 
most  conspicuous  insects  of  the  locality  wore 
new  to  me,  and  turned  out  to  be  species 
peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  Anmions  valley. 
The  most  interesting  acquisition  was  a  large- 
and  handsome  monkey,  of  a  species  I  hail, 
not    before  niet  with— ttie  white-whiskered, 
or  fcpUor-mjnkey   (Ateles 


708                      THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 

lus).  I  saw  a  pair  one  day  ?.n  the  forest  mov-  a  huge  serpent  coming  down  a  slope,  and 
ing  slowly  along  the  branches  of  a  lofty  tree,  making  the  dry  twigs  crack  and  fly  with  hia 
ami  shot  one  of  them;  the  next  day  John  weight  as  he  moved  over  them.  Ihadveryfre- 
Aracu  brought  down  another,  possibly  Hie  quently  met  with  a  smaller  boa,  the  Cutinv 
•companion.  The  species  is  of  about  the  same  boia,  in  a  similar  way,  and  knew  from  the 
*ize  as  the  common  black  kind,  of  which  I  habits  of  the  family  that  there  was  no  dan- 
have  given  an  account  in  a  former  chapter,  ger,  so  I  stood  my  ground.  On  seeing  me 
<ind  has  a  similar  lean  body,  with  limbs  the  reptile  suddenly  turned,  and  glided  at  an 
clothed  with  coarse  black  hair  ;  but  it  differs  acceleiated  pace  down  the  path.  Wishing 
in  having  the  whiskers  and  a  triangular  patch  to  take  a  note  of  his  probable  size  and  the 
on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  a  white  color,  colors  and  markings  of  his  skin,  I  set  off  after 
I  thought  the  meat  the  best  flavored  I  had  him  ;  but  he  increased  his  speed,  and  I  was 
t'ver  tasted.  It  resembled  beef,  but  had  a  unable  to  get  near  enough  for  the  purpose, 
richer  and  sweeter  taste.  During  the  ^time  There  was  very  little  of  the  serpentine  move- 
of  our  stay  in  this  part  of  the  Cupari  we  ment  in  his  course.  The  rapidly  moving  and 
could  get  scarcely  anything  but  fish  to  eat,  shining  body  looked  like  a  stream  of  brown 
»n:l  as  this  diet  ill  agreed  with  me,  three  sue-  liquid  flowing  over  the  thick  bed  of  fallen 
cessive  days  of  it  reducing  me  to  a  state  of  leaves,  rather  than  a  serpent  with  skin  of 
.  g  reat  weakness,  I  was  obliged  to  make  the  varied  colors.  He  descended  toward  the 
most  of  our  Coaita  meat.  We  smoke-dried  lower  and  moister  parts  of  the  Ygapo.  The 
the  joints  instead  of  salting  them,  placing  huge  trunk  of  an  uprooted  tree  here  lay 
them  for  several  hours  on  a  framework  of  across  the  road  ;  this  he  glided  over  in  his 
sticks  arranged  over  a  fire,  a  plan  adopted  nndeviating  course,  and  soon  after  penetrated 
by  the  natives  to  preserve  fish  when  thev  a  dense  swampy  thicket,  where  of  course  I 
have  no  salt,  and  which  theycall "  muquiar.  did  not  choose  to  follow  him. 
Meat  putrefies  in  this  climate  in  less  than  I  suffered  terribly  from  heat  and  mosqui- 
twenty-four  hours,  and  salting  is  of  no  use,  toes  as  the  river  sank  with  the  increasing  dry- 
•unless  the  pieces  are  cut  in  thin  slices  and  ness  of  the  season,  although  I  made  an  awn- 
dried  immediately  in  the  sun.  My  monkeys  ing  of  the  sails  to  work  under,  and  slept  at 
lasted  me  about  a  fortnight,  the  last  joint  night  in  the  open  air,  with  my  hammock 
being  an  arm  with  the  clinched  fist,  which  I  slung  between  the  masts.  But  there  was  no 
used  with  great  economy,  hanging  it  m  the  rest  in  any  part ;  the  canoe  descended  deeper 
intervals  between  my  frugal  meals  on  a  nail  and  deeper  into  the  gully,  through  which 
in  the  cabin.  Nothing  but  the  hardest  the  river  flows  between  high  clayey  banks, 
necessity  could  have  driven  me  so  near  to  as  the  water  subsided,  and  with  the  glowing 
cannibalism  as  this,  but  we  had  the  greatest  sun  overhead  we  felt  at  midday  as  if  in  a 
difficulty  in  obtaining  here  a  sufficient  supply  furnace  I  could  bear  scarcely  any  clothes 
•of  animal  food.  .About  every  thiee  days  the  in  the  daytime,  between  eleven  in  the  morn- 
work  on  the  montaria  had  to  be  suspended,  ing  and  five  in  the  afternoon,  wearing  noth- 
^md  all  hands  turned  out  for  the  day  to  hunt  ing  but  loose  and  thin  cotton  trousers  and  a 
and  fish,  in  which  they  were  often  unsuc-  light  straw  hat,  and  could  not  be  accommo- 
cessful,  for  although  there  was  plenty  of  dated  in  John  Aracu's  house,  as  it  was  a 
.game  in  the  forest,  it  was  too  widely  scat,  small  one  and  full  of  noisy  children.  One 
tered  to  be  available.  Ricardo  and  Alberto  night  we  had  a  terrific  storm.  The  heat  in 
occasionally  brought  in  a  tortoise  or  ant-eater,  the  afternoon  had  been  greater  than  ever,  and 
which  served  us  for  one  day's  consumption,  at  sunset  the  sky  had  a  brassy  glare  :  the 
We  made  acquaintance  here  with  many  black  patches  of  cloud  which  floated  in  it 
strange  dishes,  among  them  Iguana  eggs  ;  being  lighted  up  now  and  then  by  flashes  of 
these  are  of  oblong  form,  about  an  inch  in  sheet  lightning.  The  mosquitoes  at  night 
length,  and  covered  with  a  flexible  shell,  were  more  than  usually  troublesome,  ana  I 
The  lizard  lays  about  two  score  of  them  in  had  just  sunk  exhausted  into  a  doze,  toward 
the  hollows  of  trees.  They  have  an  oily  the  early  hours  of  morning,  when  the  storm 
taste  ;  the  men  ate  them  raw,  beaten  up  with  began  ;  a  complete  deluge  of  rain,  with  in- 
farinha,  mixing  a  pinch  of  salt  in  the  mess  ;  cessant  lightning  and  rattling  explosions  of 
I  could  only  do  with  them  when  mixed  with  thunder.  It  lasted  for  eight  hours  ;  the  gray 
Tucupi  sauce,  of  which  we  bad  a  large  jar-  dawn  opening  amid  the  crash  of  the  tempest, 
ful  always  ready  lor  the  tempering  of  un-  The  rain  trickled  through  the  seams  of  the 
savory  morsels.  cabin  roof  on  to  my  collections,  the  late  hot 
One  day  as  I  was  entomologizing  alone  and  weather  having  warped  the  boards,  and  it 
unarmed,  in  a  dry  Ygap6,  where  the  trees  gave  me  immense  trouble  to  secure  them  in 
were  rather  wide  apart  and  the  ground  coat-  the  midst  of  the  confusion.  Altogether  I  had 
ed  to  (he  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches  with  a  bad  night  of  it ;  but  what  with  storms, 
dead  leaves,  I  was  near  coming  into  collision  heat,  mosquitoes,  hunger,  and,  toward  the 
with  a  boa-constrictor.  I  had  just  entered  a  last,  ill  health,  I  seldom  had  a  good  night's 
little  thicket  to  capture  an  insect,  and  while  rest  on  the  Cupari. 

pinning  it  was  rather  startled  by  a  rushing^  A  small  creek  traversed  the  forest  behind 
noise  in  the  vicinity.  I  looked  up  to  the  sky,  John  Aracu's  house,  and  entered  the  river  a 
thinking  a  squall  was  coming  on,  but  not  a  tew  yards  from  our  anchoring  place  ;  I  used 
breath  of  wind  stirred  in  the  tree-tops.  On  to  cross  it  twice  a  day,  on  going  and  return- 
stepping  out  of  the  bushes  1  met  face  to  fact  io£  fiont  my  hunting-ground.  One  da/  earljr 


THE  NATURALIST  ON     THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


709 


In  September,  I  noticed  that  the  water  was 
two  or  three  inches  higher  in  the  afternoon 
than  it  had  been  in  the  morning  This  phe- 
nomenon was  repeated  the  next  day,  and  in 
fact  daily,  until  the  creek  became  dry^wilh 
the  continued  subsidence  of  the  Cupuri,  the 
time  of  rising  shifting  a  little  from  day  to 
day.  I  pointed  out  the  circumstance  to  John 
Arcaii,  who  had  not  noticed  it  before  (it  was 
only  his  second  year  of  residence  in  the 
locality),  but  agreed  with  me  that  it  must  be 
the  "mare."  Yes,  the  tide!  the  throb  of 
the  great  oceanic  pulse  felt  in  this  remote 
corner,  530  miles  distant  from  the  place  where 
it  first  strikes  the  body  of  fresh  water  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Amazons.  I  hesitated  at  first 
at  this  conclusion,  but  on  reflecting  that  the 
tide  was  known  to  be  perceptible  at  Obydos, 
more  than  400  miles  from  the  sea  ;  that  at 
high  water  in  the  dry  season  a  large  flood 
from  the  Amazons  enters  the  mouth  of  the 
Tapajos,  and  that  there  is  but  a  very  small 
difference  of  level  between  that  point  and 
the  Cupari,  a  fact  shown  by  the  absence  of 
current  in  the  dry  season  ;  I  could  have  no 
doubt  that  this  conclusion  was  a  correct  one. 

The  fact  of  the  tide  being  felt  530  miles  up 
the  Amazons,  passing  from  the  main  stream 
to  one  of  its  affluents  380  miles  from  its 
mouth,  and  thence  to  a  branch  in  the  third 
degree,  is  a  proof  of  the  extreme  flatness  of 
the  land  which  forms  the  lower  part  of  the 
Amazonian  valley.  This  uniformity  of  level 
is  shown,  also  in  the  broad  lake-like  expanses 
of  water  formed,  near  their  mouths,  by  thf 
principal  affluents  which  cross  the  valley  to 
join  the  main  river. 

August  Zlst. — John  Aracu  consented  to  ac- 
company me  to  the  falls,  with  one  of  his 
men,  to  hunt  and  fish  for  me.  One  of  my 
objects  was  to  obtain  specimens  of  the  hya- 
cinthine  macaw,  whose  range  commences  on 
all  the  branch  rivers  of  the  Amazons  which 
flow  from  the  south  through  the  interior  of 
Brazil,  with  the  first  cataracts.  We  started 
on  the  19th,  our  direction  on  that  day  being 
generally  south-west.  On  the  20th  our 
course  was  southerly  and  southeasterly. 
This  morning  (August  fclst)  we  arrived  at  the 
Indian  settlement,  the  first  house  of  which 
lies  about  thirty-one  miles  above  the  sitio  of 
John  Aracu.  The  river  at  this  place  is  from 
sixty  to  seventy  yards  wide,  and  runs  in  a 
zigzag  course  between  steep  clayey  banks, 
twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  height.  The  houses 
of  the  Munduruciis.  to  the  number  of  about 
thirty ,  are  scattered  along  the  banks  for  a  dis- 
tance of  six  or  seven  miles.  The  owners  ap- 
pear to  have  chosen  all  the  most  picturesque 
sites — tracts  of  level  ground  at  the  foot  of 
wooded  heights,  or  little  havens  with  bits  of 
white  sandy  beach — as  if  they  had  an  appre- 
ciation of  natural  beauty.  Most  of  the  d  well- 
iugs  are  conical  huts,  with  walls  of  frame- 
work filled  in  with  mud  and  thatched  with 
palm-leaves,  the  broad  eaves  reaching  half 
way  to  the  ground.  Some  arc  quadrangular, 
and  do  not  differ  in  structure  from  those  of 
the  semi-civilized  settlers  5u  other  parts  ; 
others  are  optu  siiecls  oi1  raaji;.^.  A'HCJ-- 


seem  generally  to  contain  not  more  than  one 
or  two  families  each. 

At  the  first  house  we  learned  that  all  the 
fighting  men  had  this  morning  returned  from 
a  two  days'  pursuit  of  a  wandering  horde  of 
savages  of  the  Pararauate  tribe,  who  had 
strayed  this  way  from  the  interior  lands  uiui 
robbed  the  plantations.  A  little  farther  on. 
we  came  to  the  house  of  the  Tushaua,  or 
chief,  situated  on  the  top  of  a  high  bank, 
which  we  had  to  ascend  by  wooden  fcteps. 
There  were  four  other  houses  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, all  filled  with  people.  A  flue  old 
fellow,  with  face,  shoulders,  and  breast  tat- 
tooed all  over  in  a  cross-bar  pattern,  was  thu 
first  strange  object  that  caught  my  eye. 
Most  of  the  men  lay  lounging  or  sleeping  \\\ 
their  hammocks.  The  women  were  em- 
ployed in  an  adjoining  shed  making  farinha, 
many  of  them  being  naked,  and  rushing  off 
to  the  huts  to  slip  on  their  petticoats  whea 
they  caught  sight  of  us.  Our  entrance 
aroused  liie  Tushaua  from  a  nap  ;  after  rub- 
bing his  eyes  he  came  forward  and  bade  us 
welcome  with  the  most  formal  polietness, 
and  in  very  good  Portuguese.  He  was  a  tall, 
broad-shouldered,  well-made  man,  appaiently 
about  thirty  years  of  age,  with  handsome 
regular  features,  not  tattooed,  and  a  quiet, 
good-humored  expression  of  countenance. 
He  had  been  several  times  to  Santarem  anil 
once  to  Para,  learning  the  Portuguese  lan- 
guage during  these  journeys.  He  was 
dressed  in  shirt  and  trousers  made  of  blue- 
checked  cotton  cloth,  and  there  was  not  the 
slightest  trace  of  the  savage  in  his  appearance 
or  demeanor.  I  was  told  that  he  had  come 
into  the  chieftainship  by  inheritance,  and 
that  the  Cupari  horde  of  Mundurucds,  over 
which  his  fathers  had  ruled  before  him,  was 
formerly  much  more  numerous,  furnishing 
800  bows  in  time  of  war.  They  could  now 
scarcely  muster  forty  ;  but  the  horde  has  no 
longer  a  close  political  connection  with  the 
main  body  of  the  tribe,  which  inhabits  the 
banks  of  the  Tapajos,  six  days'  journey  from 
the  Cupari  settlement. 

..  I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day  here, 
sending  Aracu  and  the  men  to  fish,  while  I 
amused  myself  with  the  Tushaua  and  his 
people.  A  few  words  served  to  explain  my 
errand  on  the  river  ;  he  comprehended  at 
once  why  white  men  should  admire,  ami 
travel  to  collect  the  beautiful  birds  and  ani- 
mals of  his  country,  and  neither  he  nor  Lis 
people  spoke  a  single  word  about  trading,  or 
gave  us  any  trouble  by  coveting  the  things 
we  had  brought.  He  related  to  me  tho 
events  of  the  preceding  three  days.  T,.e 
iPararauates  were  a  tribe  of  intractable  sav- 
ages, with  whom  the  Mundurucus  have  been 
always  at  war.  They  had  no  fixed  abode, 
and  of  course  made  no  plantations,  but- 
passed  their  lives  like  the  wild  beasts,  roam- 
ing through  the  forest,  guided  by  the  sun  : 
wherever  they  found  themselves  at  night- 
time, there  they  slept,  slinging  their  bast, 
hammocks,  which  are  carried  by  the  women, 
to  the  trees.  They  cross  the  streams  whicli 
lio  1:1  their  course  in  bark  cauoen,  which  they 


"710 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    T//E  RIVEK  AMAZONS. 


.make  on  reaching  the  water,  and  cast  away 
-after  lauding  on  the  opposite  side.  The  tribe 
is  very  numerous,  but  the  different  hordes 
obey  only  their  owu  chieftains.  The  Mun- 
•durucus  of  the  upper  Tapajns  have  au  expe- 
'difion  on  foot  against  them  at  the  present 


tried  to  skip.  The  pictures  of  the  elephant, 
camels,  orang-otangs,  and  tigeis  seemed 
most  to  astonish  them  ;  but  they  were  inter- 
ested in  almost  everything,  down  even  to 
the  shells  and  insects.  They  recognized  the, 
portraits  of  the  most  striking  birds  and  mam* 


f--  -    c*i  JUtou      bUV,  IAL    tVL       IUV       L?IVOWUV  UVI  VftCMvO  t/A     &UV    111  V^  Ob     O  I  1  1  I*.  I  11  £i    I'UtAO    ClilU    lliUlll* 

ushaua    supposed  that  *  he    Dials  which  aie  found  in  their  own  country  ; 

•K 1  _      1.  '  _t.       l_-  ^     1       • ^     1-  I  li!  i    •  „  »  •  i  ^  '  i  .  1 


horde  which  ha-l  just  been  chased  hum  his 
maloca  were  1'ugi lives  from  that  direction. 
There  were  ab  ut  a  hundred  of  them — in- 
Deluding  men,  women,  and  children.  Before 
they  were  discoverer!  the  hungry  savages  had 
•uprooted  all  the  macashtira,  sweet  potatoes, 
«nd  sugar-cane,  whicn  tlie  industrious  Mun- 
durucus  had  planted  for  the  season,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river.  As  soon  as  they  were 
teen  they  made  off,  but  the  Tushaua  quickly 
got  together  all  the  young  men  of  the  settle- 
ment, about  thirty  in  number,  who  armed 
themselves  with  guns,  bows  and  arrows,  and 
Javelins,  and  started  in  pursuit.  They 
•tracked  them,  as  before  related,  for  two  days 
through  the  forest,  but  lost  their  traces  on 
4he  further  bank  of  the'Cuparitinga,  a  branch 
•stream  flowing  from  the  north-east, 
puisuers  thought,  at  one  lime,  they 


the  jaguar,  howling  monkeys,  parrots,  tro- 
gons,  i7ml  toucans.  The  elephant  was  set  tied 
to  be  a  large  kind  of  tapir  ;  but  they  made 
but  few  remarks,  and  those  in  the  Mundu- 
rucu  language,  of  which  I  understood  only 
two  or  three  words.  Their  way  of  express- 
ing sui  prise  was  a  clicking  sound  made  with 
the  teeth,  s'milar  to  the  one  we  ourselves 
use,  or  a  subdued  exclamation,  Hm  !  hm  ! 
Before  I  finished,  from  fifty  to  sixty  had  as- 
sembled ;  there  was  no  pushing  or  rudeness, 
the  grown-up  women  letting  the  young  girls 
and  children  stand  before  them,  and  all  be- 
haved in  the  most  quiet  and  orderly  manner 
possible. 

The  Mundurucus  are  perhaps    the    most 
numerous  and  formidable  tribe  of  Indians 
The    now  surviving  in  the  Amazons  region.     They 
were     nhabit  the  shores  of  the  Tapajos  (chiefly  the 


••close  upon  them,  having  fcund  the  inextin-  right  bank),  from  3°  to  7°  south  latitude,  and 
/guished  fire  of  their  last  encampment.  The  the  interior  of  the  country  between  that  part 
footmarks  cf  the  chief  could  be  distinguished  cf  the  river  and  the  Madeira.  On  the  Tapa- 
from  the  rest  by  their  great  size  and  the  jos  alone  they  can  muster,  I  was  told,  2000 
length  of  the  stride.  A  small  necklace  made  fighting  men;  the  total  population  of  the 

tribe  may  be  about  20,000.  They  were  not 
heard  of  until  about  ninety  years  ago,  whtu 
they  made  war  on  the  Portuguese  settle- 


of  scarlet  beans  was  the  only  trophy  of  the 

'expedition,  and  this  the  Tushaua  gave  to  me. 

I  saw  very  little  of  the  other  male  Indians, 

-as  they  were  asleep  in  their  huts  all  the  after- 


men!  s,    their  hosts    crossing  the  interior  of 


-noon.  There  were  two  othtr  tattooed  men  the  country  eastward  of  the  Tapajos,  and  al- 
lying under  an  open  shed,  besides  the  old  man  Stacking  the  establishments  of  the  wliites  in 
•already  mentioned.  One  of  them  piet-ented  the  province  of  Matanham.  The  Portuguese 
#  strange  appearance.  Laving  a  semicircular  made  peace  with  them  in  the  beginning  of 

the  present  «n  ury,  the  event  being  brought 

of   the   nose  and   mouth  ;    about  by  the  common  c^useof  quarrel  enter- 
his  back  and   bicast,  and    tained  by  the  two  peoples  against  the  hated 
Muras.     They    have  ever   since    been   firm 


black  patch  in  the  middle  of  his  face,  cover- 
ing   the   bottom 
^crossed   lines  on 

•stripes  down  his  aims  and  legs.     It  is  singu- 
lar that  the  graceful  curved  patterns  ustci  by    friends  of  the  whites.     It  is  remarkable  how 
the  South  Sea  Islanders  are  quite  unknown    faithfully    this    friendly    feeling    ^as    been 
aimong  the  Brazilian  red  men  ;  they  being  all    bailed 
4attooed  either  in  simple  lines  or   patches. 
'The  nearest  approach  to  elegance  of  design 
•which  I  saw  was  among  the  Tucunn*  of  the    famih*,  or  even  an  individual  of  the  tribe,  he 


down  among  the  Muudurucus,  and 
spread  to  the  remotest  of  the  scattered 
hordes.  Wherever  a  white  man  meets  a 


Upper    Amazons,  some    of    whem    have  a 
scroll-like  mark  en  each  cheek,  pio«coing    They  are 

The 


irom  the  corner  of  the  meuih.     The  ts.ste, 
-us  far  as  form  is  concerned,  of  the  Ameiuan 
Indian    would  seem  to   be  far  less   it-fined 
ifhan  that  of  the  Tahitian  andNewZealander. 
To  amuse  the  Tushaua,  I  fciched  ficm  the 
canoe  the  two  volumes  cf  Knight's  "  Pic- 
torial Museum  of  Animated  Nalme."     The 
engravings   quite    took  his    fancy,  and    he 
•called  his  wives,  of  whom,  as  I   afieiward 
learned  from  Aracu,  he  had  thiee  Q<  i<  ui.  to 
look  at  them  ;  one  of  them  was  a  lu.mi 
girl,  decorated  with  necklace  and  bi«  v 
( f  blue  beads.     In  a  short  time  fill 
their  work,  and  I  then  had  a  crowd  »  )  \ 
•en  and  children  around  me,  who  all  o^|  > 
unusual  curiosity  for  Indians,      li   vu; 
light  task  to  go  through  the  wh'ok    c 
illustrations,  but  they  would  not  allow 


miss  a  pa§e,  making  me  turn  lack  \vMc**  X    ei« 


is  aim  ist  sare  to  be  reminded  of  thisstlliance. 
the  injst  warlike  of  the  Brazilian 
tribes,  au  1  are  considered  also  the  mo^t  set- 
tle! au;i  in  lustriaus  ;  they  are  not,  haweirer, 
supeii  M  in  ih is  latter  respect  to  the  Juris  and 
Passes,  <)ii  the  Upper  Amazons,  or  the  Uapes 
Indians  n  -ar    the  head   waters  of   the   Rij 
N«g' ••>.     They   make  very  large  planta-iona 
of  in  in  1 1  )Cu,  and  sell  the  sivplu*  produce, 
will-  i  tin  mats  on  I  he  Tapajos  to  from  300i) 
it)  50. M)   baskets  (60  H».   each)  annually,  to 
trader-i  who  aseen-1  ttio    iver  from  8'iutarona 
me  |  between  the  mouths  of  August  aud  January. 
ins'iTlie     also  gather  large  quantities  of  Saisi- 
;  it  '  parilht,   imlia-rubber,  and  Touka  beans,  in 
in-    the  fot  e.sts.     The  trade. s,  rm  their  arrival  at' 
\  ed    the  C  i.npinas  (the  scantily  wooded  region  in. 
Qoijuabite  1   t     the  rn^ain  body  of  Mundurueiii 
•  lie  *  be/on  1  the  eararioU)  have  first  to  distribute 
i  to    their  vvues — cfie.ip  c»tt;»u  cloths,  iron  hatch- 


-  M  ill    Wiiros,    and    ca.shaga— r 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


Till 


among  the  minor  chiefs,  and  then  wait  three 
or  four  months  for  repayment  in  produce. 

A  rapid  change  is  taking  place  in  the 
habits  of  these  Indians  through  frequent  in- 
tercourse with  the  whites,  and  those  who 
dwell  on  the  banks  of  the  Tapajos  now  sel- 
dom tattoo  their  children.  The  principal 
Tushaua  of  the  whole  tribe  or  nation,  named 
Joaquim,  was  rewarded  with  a  commission 
in  the  Brazilian  army,  iu  acknowledgment  of 
the  assistance  he  gave  to  the  legal  authorities 
during  the  rebellion  of  1835-6.  It  would  be  a 
misnomer  to  call  the  Mundurucus  of  the  Cu- 
pari  and  many  parts  of  the  Tapajos,  savages ; 
their  regular  mode  of  life,  agricultural  habits, 
loyalty  to  their  chiefs,  fidelity  to  treaties,  and 
gentleness  of  demeanor,  give  them  a  right  to 
a  better  title.  Yet  they  show  no  aptitude  for 
the  civilized  life  of  towns,  and,  like  the  rest 
of  the  Brazilian  tribes,  seem  incapable  of  any 
further  advance  in  culture.  In  their  former 
wars  they  exterminated  two  of  the  neighbor- 
ing peoples,  the  Jumas  and  the  Jacares  ;  aud 
make  now  an  annual  expedition  against  the 
Pararauates,  and  one  or  two  ofcher  similar 
wild  tribes  who  inhabit  the  interior  of  the 
land,  but  are  sometimes  driven  by  hunger 
toward  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers  to  rob 
the  plantations  of  the  agricultural  Indians. 
These  campaigns  begin  in  July,  and  last 
throughout  the  dry  months  ;  the  women  gen- 
erally accompanying  the  warriors  to  carry, 
their  arrows  and  javelins.  They  had  the  dia- 
bolical custom,  in  former  days,  of  cutting  off 
the  heads  of  their  slain  enemies,  and  preserv- 
ing them  as  trophies  around  their  houses.  I 
believe  this,  together  with  other  savage  prac- 
tices, has  been  relinquished  in  those  parts 
where  they  have  had  long  intercourse  with 
the  Brazilians,  for  I  could  neither  see  nor 
hear  anything  of  these  preserved  heads. 
They  used  to  sever  the  heads  with  knives 
made  of  broad  bamboo,  and  then,  after  tak- 
ing out  the  brain  and  fleshy  parts,  soak  it  in 
bitter  vegetable  oil  (andiroba),  and  expose  it 
for  several  days  over  the  smoke  of  a  fire  or 
in  the  sun.  in  the  tract  of  country  between 
the  Tapajos  and  the  Madeira  a  deadly  war 
has  been  for  many  years  carried  on  between 
the  Mundurucus  and  the  Araras.  I  was  told 
by  a  Frenchman  at  Santarem,  who  had  visited 
that  part,  that  all  the  settlements  there  have 
a  military  organization.  A  separate  shed  is 
built  outside  each  village,  where  the  fighting 
men  sleep  at  night,  sentinels  being  stationed 
to  give  the  alarm  with  blasts  of  the  Ture  on 
the  approach  of  the  Araras,  who  choose  the 
night  for  their  onslaughts. 

Each  horde  of  Mundurucus  has  its  paje  or 
medicine  man,  who  is  the  priest  and  doctor  ; 
fixes  upon  the  time  most  propitious  for  at- 
tacking the  enerhy  ;  exorcises  evil  spirits, 
and  professes  to  cure  the  sick.  All  illness 
whose  origin  is  not  very  apparent  is  supposed 
to  be  cawsed^by  a  worm  in  the  part  affected. 
This  the  paje  pretends  to  extract ;  he  blows 
on  the  seat  of  pain  the  smoke  from  a  large 
cigar,  made  with  aii  air  of  great  mystery  by 
rolling  tobacco  in  folds  of  Tauari,  and  then 
sucks  the  place,  drawing  from  his  mouth,- 


when  he  has  finished,  what  he  pretends  to  bo- 
th e  worm.  It  is  a  piece  of  very  clumsy 
conjuring.  One  of  these  pajes  was  sent  for 
by  a  woman  in  John  Aracu's  family,  to«> 
operate  on  a  child  who  suffered  much  from 
pains  in  the  head.  Senhor  John  contrived 
to  get  possession  of  the  supposed  worm  after 
the  trick  was  performed  in  our  presence,  and 
it  turned  out  to  be  a  long  white  air-root  of 
some  plant.  The  paje  was  with  difficulty 
persuaded  to  operate  while  Senhor  John  and  1 
were  present.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  he, 
as  well  as  all  others  of  the  same  profession, 
are  conscious  impostors,  handing  down  the 
shallow  secret  of  their  divinations  and  tricka 
from  generation  to  generation.  The  institu- 
tion seems  to  be  common  to  all  tribes  of  In- 
dians, and  to  be  held  to  more  tenaciously  than 
any  other. 

I  bought  of  the  Tushaua  two  beautiful 
feather  sceptres,  with  their  bamboo  cases. 
These  are  of  cylindrical  shape,  about  three 
feet  in  length  and  three  inches  in  diameter, 
and  are  made  by  gluing  with  wax  the  fine 
white  and  yellow  feathers  from  the  breast  of 
the  toucan  on  stout  rods,  the  tops  being  orna- 
mented with  long  plumes  from  the  tails  of" 
parrots,  trogons,  and  other  birds.  The  Mun- 
durucus are  considered  to  be  the  most  expert 
workers  in  feathers  of  all  the  South  Ameri- 
can tribes.  It  is  very  difficult,  however,  to- 
get  them  to  part  with  the  articles,  as  they 
seem  to  have  a  sort  of  superstitious  regard 
for  them.  They  manufacture  head-dresses, 
sashes,  and  tunics,  besides  sceptres ;  the 
feathers  being  assorted  with  a  good  eye 
to  the  proper  contrast  of  colors,  and  the 
quills  worked  into  strong  cotton  webs  wov- 
en with  knitting  sticks  in  the  required 
shape.  The  dresses  are  worn  only  dur- 
ing their  festivals,  which  are  celebrated,, 
not  at  stated  times,  but  whenever  the  Tu- 
shana  thinks  fit.  Dancing,  singing,  sports, 
and  drinking  appear  to  be  the  sole  objects 
of  these  occasional  holidays.  When  a  day  is. 
fixed  upon,  the  women  prepare  a  great  quan- 
tity of  taroba,  and  the  monotonous  jingle  is 
kept  up,  with  little  intermission,  night  ami 
day,  until  the  stimulating  beverage  is  fin- 
ished. 

We  left  the  Tushaua's  house  early  the  next 
morning.  The  impression  made  upon  me  by 
the  glimpse  of  Indian  life  in  its  natural  state 
obtained  here,  and  at  another  cluster  of 
houses  visited  higher  up,  was  a  pleasant  one, 
notwithstanding  the  disagreeable  iuciclent  of 
the  Pararauate  visit.  The  Indians  me  litre- 
seen  to  the  best  advantage,  having  relin- 
quished many  of  their  most  barbarous  prac- 
tices, without  being  corrupted  by  to>  close 
contact  with  the  inferior  whites  aud  half- 
breeds  of  the  civilized  settlements.  The 
manners  are  simpler,  the  demeanor  more  gen. 
tie,  cheerful,  and  frank,  than  among  the  In- 
dians who  live  near  the  towns.  I  could  not 
help  contrasting  their  well-fed  condition,  aud 
tli3  signs  of  orderly,  industrious  habits,  with 
>!)e  poverty  and  laziness  of  the  Bemi-civilized 
•,}"  mle  of  Altar  d&  ChaO.  I  do  not  think  that 
•Wift  mtnxluction  of  liquors  has  been  the  cause 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


of  much  harm  to  the  Brazilian  Indian.  He 
lias  his  drinking  bout  now  and  then,  like  the 
common  working  people  of  other  countries. 
It  was  his  habit  in  his  original  state,  before 
Europeans  visited  his  country  ;  but  he  is 
always  ashamed  of  it  afterward,  and  remains 
sober  during  the  pretty  long  intervals.  The 
harsh,  slave-driving  practices  of  the  Portu- 
guese and  their  descendants  have  been  the 
greatest  curses  to  the  Indians  ;  theMunduru- 
cus  of  the  Cupari,  however,  have  been  now 
for  many  years  protected  against  ill-treat- 
ment. This  is  one  of  the  good  services  ren- 
dered by  the  missionaries,  who  take  oaje  that 
the  Brazilian  law  in  favor  of  the  aborigines 
shall  be  respected  by  the  brutal  and  unprinci- 
pled traders  who  go  among  them.  I  think 
no  Indians  could  be  in  a  happier  position  than 
these  simple,  peaceful,  and  friendly  people 
on  the  banks  of  the  Cupari.  The  members 
of  each  family  live  together,  and  seem  to  be 
much  attached  to  each  other  ;  and  the  au- 
thority of  the  chief  is  exercised  in  the  mild- 
est manner.  Perpetual  summer  reigns  around 
them  ;  the  land  is  of  the  highest  fertility, 
$ind  a  moderate  amount  of  light  work  pro- 
riuces  them  all  the  necessaries  of  their  simple 
life.  It  is  difficult  to  get  at  their  notions  on 
subjects  that  require  a  little  abstract 
thought ;  but  the  mind  of  the  Indian  is  in  a 
very  primitive  condition.  I  believe  he  thinks  of 
nothing  except  the  matters  that  immediately 
concern  his  daily  material  wants.  There  is  an 
almost  total  absence  of  curiosity  in  his  men- 
tal dispositioL,  consequently  he  troubles  him- 
self very  little  concerning  the  causes  of  the 
natural  phenomena  around  him.  He  has  no 
idea  cf  a  Supreme  Being  ;  but,  nt  the  same 
time,  he  is  free  from  revolting  superstitions 
— his  religious  notions  going  no  f  Hither  than 
the  belief  in  ae  evil  spirit,  regarded  merely 
as  a  kind  of  hobgoblin,  who  is  at  the  bottom 
of  all  his  little  failures,  troubles  in  fishing, 
hunting,  and  so  forth.  With  so  little  mental 
activity  and  with  feelings  and  passions  slow 
of  excitement,  the  life  of  these  people  is 
naturally  monotonous  and  dull,  and  their  vir- 
tues are,  properly  speaking,  onty  negative ; 
ibut  the  pictuie  of  haimless  homely  content- 
ment they  exhibit  is  very  pleasing,  com- 
pared with  the  state  of  savage  races  in  many 
Dther  parts  of  the  world. 

The  raen  awoke  me  at  four  o'clock  with 
tl  e  Found  of  their  oars  on  leaving  the  port  of 
1he  Tushaua.  I  was  surprised  to  rind  a  dense 
fog  veiling  all  surrounding  objects,  and  the 
air  quite  cold.  The  lofty  wall  of  forest,  with 
the  beautiful  ci owns  of  Assai  palms  standing 
Dut  from  it  on  their  slender,  arching  stems, 

.looked  dim  and  strange  through  the  misty 
•curtain.  The  sudden  change  a  little  after 
sunrise  had  quite  a  magical  effect ;  for  the 
mist  rose  up  like  the  gauze  veil  before  the 
*ransformation  scene  at  a  pantomime,  and 

-showed  the  glorious  foliage  in  the  bright  glow 

-of  morning,  glittering  with  dew-drops.  We 
^arrived  at  the  falls  about  ten  o'clock.  The 
•river  here  is  net  more  than  forty  yards  bioad, 

.sand  falls  over  a  low  ledge  of  rock  stretching 


in  a  nearly  straight  line  across. 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  navi. 
gation  for  large  vessels — a  distance  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  according  to  a  rough  cal- 
culation, of  a  little  over  seventy  miles.  I 
found  it  the  better  course  now  to  send  Jcse 
and  one  of  the  men  forward  in  the  montaria 
with  John  Aracu,  and  remain  myself  with 
the  cuberta  and  our  other  men,  to  collect  in 
the  neighboring  foiest.  We  stayed  here  four 
days  ;  one  of  the  beats  returning  each  even- 
ing from  the  upper  river  with  the  produce 
of  the  day's  chase  of  my  huntsmen.  I  ob- 
tained six  good  specimens  of  the  hyacinthine 
macaw,  besides  a  number  of  smaller  birds,  a 
species  new  to  me  of  Guaiiba,  or  howling 
monkey,  and  two  large  lizards.  The  Guan- 
ba  was  an  old  male,  with  the  hair  much  woi n 
from  his  rump  and  breast,  and  his  body  dis- 
figured with  large  tumors  made  by  the  grubs 
of  a  gad-fly  (^Estrus).  The  back  and  tail 
were  of  a  ruddy- brown  color  ;  the  limbs  and 
under  side  of  the  body,  black.  The  men  as- 
cended to  the  second  falls,  which  form  a 
cataract  several  feet  in  height  about  fifteen 
miles  beyond  our  anchorage.  The  macaws 
were  found  feeding  in  small  flocks  on  fruit 
of  the  Tucunm  palm  (Astryocaryum  Tucu- 
ma),  the  excessively  hard  nut  of  which  is 
crushed  into  pulp  by  the  powerful  beak  of 
the  bird.  I  found  the  craws  of  all  the  speci- 
mens rilled  with  the  sour  paste  to  which  the 
stone-like  fruit  luid  been  reduced.  Each  bird 
lock  mo  three  hours  to  skin,  and  I  was  occu- 
pied with  these  arid  my  other  specimens 
every  evening  until  midnight,  after  my  own 
laborious  day's  hunt  ;  working  on  the  roof 
of  my  cabin  by  the  light  of  a  lamp. 

The  place  where  the  cuberta  was  anchored 
formed  a  little  rocky  haven,  with  u  sandy 
beach  sloping  to  the  forest,  within  which 
were  the  ruins  of  an  Indian  Maloca,  and  a 
large  weed-grown  plantation.  The  port 
swarmed  with  fishes,  whose  movements  it 
was  amusing  to  watch  in  the  deep,  clear 
water.  The  most  abundant  were  the  Piian- 
has.  One  species,  which  varied  in  length, 
according  to  age,  from  two  to  six  inches,  but 
was  recognizable  by  a  black  spot  at  the  root 
of  the  tail,  was  always  the  quickest  to  seize 
any  fragment  of  meat  thrown  into  the  water. 
When  nothing  was  being  given  to  them,  a 
few  only  were  seen  scattered  about,  their 
heads  all  turned  one  way  in  an  altitude  of 
expectation ;  but  as  soon  as  any  offal  fell 
from  the  canoe  the  water  was  blackened 
with  the  shoals  that  rushed  instantaneously' 
to  the  spot.  Those  who  did  not  succeed  in 
securing  a  fragment  fought  with  those  who 
had  been  more  successful,  and  many  con- 
trived t  j  steal  the  coveted  morsels  from  their 
mouths.  When  a  bee  or  fly  passed  through 
the  air  near  the  water,  they  all  simultaneously 
darted  toward  it  as  if  roused  by  an  electric 
shock.  Sometimes  a  larger  fish  approached, 
and  1  hen  the  host  of  Piranhas  took  the  alarm 
and  flashed  out  of  sight.  The  population  of  the 
wa'er  varied  from  day  today.  Once  a  small 
slioal  of  a  handsome  black-banded  fish.called 
Uie  natives  Acara  bundeka  CMesonauta 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


71$ 


insignis,  of  Gttnther),  came  gliding  through 
at  a  slow  pace,  forming  a  very  pretty  sight.  At 
another  time,  little  troops  of  needle-fish,  eel- 
like  animals  with  excessively  long  and  slen- 
der-toothed jaws,  sailed  through  the  field, 
scattering  before  them  the  hosts  of  smaller 
fry  ;  and  in  the  rear  of  the  needle-fishes  a 
strangely-shaped  kind  called  Sarapo  came 
wriggling  along,  one  by  one,  with  a  slow 
movement.  We  caught  with  hook  and  line, 
baited  with  pieces  of  banana,  several  Curi- 
maca  (Anodus  Amazonum)  a  most  delicious 
fish,  which,  next  to  the  Tucunare  and  the 
Pescada,  is  most  esteemed  by  the  natives. 
The  Curimata  seemed  to  prefer  the  middle 
of  the  stream,  where  the  waters  were  agitated 
beneath  the  little  cascade. 

The  weather  was  now  settled  and  dry,  and 
the  river  sank  rapidly — six  inches  iu  twenty- 
four  hours.  In  this  remote  and  solitary  spot 
I  can  say  that  I  heard  for  the  first  and  almost 
the  only  time  the  uproar  of  life  at  sunset, 
which  Humboldt  describes  as  having  wit- 
nessed toward  the  sources  of  the  Orinoco,  but 
which  is  unknown  on  the  banks  of  the  larger 
rivers.  The  noises  of  animals  began  just  as 
the  sun  sank  behind  the  trees,  after  a  swel- 
tering afternoon,  leaving  the  sky  above  of  the 
intensest  shade  of  blue.  Two  flocks  of  howl- 
ing monkeys,  one  close  to  our  canoe,  the 
other  about  a  furlong  distant,  filled  the  echo- 
ing forest  with  their  dismal  roaring.  Troops 
of  parrots,  including  the  hyacinthine  macaw 
we  were  in  search  of,  began  then  to  pass 
over,  the  different  styles  of  cawing  and 
screaming  of  the  various  species  making  a 
terrible  discord.  Added  to  these  noises  were 
the  songs  of  strange  Cicadas,  one  large  kind 
perched  high  on  the  trees  around  our  little 
haven  setting  up  a  most  piercing  chirp  ;  it 
began  with  the  usual  harsh  jarring  tone  of  its 
tiibe,  but  this  gradually  and  rapidly  became 
shriller,  until  it  ended  in  a  long  and  loud  note 
resembling  the  steam-whistle  of  a  locomotive 
engine.  Half  a  dozen  of  these  wonderful 
performers  made  a  considerable  item  in  the 
evening  concert.  I  had  heard  the  same  spe- 
cies before  at  Para,  but  it  was  there  very  un- 
common ;  we  obtained  here  one  of  them  for 
my  collection  by  a  lucky  blow  with  a  stone. 
The  uproar  of  beasts,  birds,  and  insects 
lasted  but  a  short  time  :  the  sky  quickly  lost 
its  intense  hue,  and  the  night  set  in.  Then 
began  the  tree-frogs — quack-quack,  drum- 
drum,  hoo-hoo  ;  these,  accompanied  by  a 
melancholy  night-jar,  kept  up  their  monoto- 
nous cries  until  very  late. 

My  men  encountered  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream  a  Jaguar  and  a  black  Tiger,  and  were 
very  much  afraid  of  falling  in  with  the  Para- 
rauates,  so  that  I  could  not,  after  their  return 
on  the  fourth  day,  induce  them  to  undertake 
another  journey.  We  began  our  descent  of 
the  river  in  the  evening  of  the  26th  of  Au- 
gust. At  night  forest  and  river  were  again 
enveloped  in  mist,  aiid  the  air  before  sunrise 
was  quite  cold.  There  is  a'considerable  cur- 
rent from  the  falls  to  the  house  of  John 
Aracu,  and  we  accomplished  the  distance, 
with  its  aid  and  by  rowing,  in  seventeen 


hours. 

September  21*tf.— At  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon we  emerged  from  the  confined  and 
stifling  gully  through  which  the  Cupari  flows, 
into  the  broad  Tapajos,  and  breathed  freely 
again.  How  I  enjoyed  the  extensive  view 
utter  being  so  long  pent  up  :  the  mountainous; 
coasts,  the  gray  distance,  the  dark  waters, 
tossed  by  a  refreshing  breeze !  Heat,  mos- 
quitoes, insufficient  and  bad  food,  hard  woik 
and  anxiety  had  brought  me  to  a  very  low 
Btate  of  health  ;  and  I  was  now  anxious  to-- 
make  all  speed  back  to  Santarem. 

We  touched  at  Aveyros,  to  embark  some 
chests  I  had  left  there,  and  to  settle  accounts , 
with  Captain  Antonio  :  finding  nearly  all  the 
people  sick  with  fever  and  vomit,  against 
which   the   Padre's   homoeopathic    globules 
were  of  no  avail.     The  Tapajos  had  been 
pretty  free  from  epidemics  for  some  year& 
past,  although  it  was  formerly  a  very  un- 
healthy river.     A  sickly  time  appeared  to  be* 
now  returning  ;  in  fact,  the  year  following; 
my  visit  (1853)  was  the  most  fatal  one  ever 
experienced  in  this  part  of  the  country.     A... 
kind  of  putrid  fever  broke  out,  which  at- 
tacked people  of  all  races  alike.      The  ac-- 
counts  we  received  at  Santa rem  were  most 
distressing :    my  Cupari    friends  especially 
suffered  very  severely.     John  Aracu  and  hiV 
family  all  fell  victims,  with  the  exception  cf '. 
his  wife  :  my  kind  friend  Antonio  Malagueita 
also  died,  and  a  great  number  of  people  in 
the  Muadurucu.  village. 

The  descent  of  the  Tapajos  in  the  height 
of  the  dry  season,  which  was  now  close  at. 
hand,  is  very  hazardous  on  account  of  the 
strong  winds,  absence  of  current,  and  shoaly 
water  far  away  from  the  coasts.     The  river- 
toward  the  end  of  September  is  about  thirty 
feet  shallower  than  in  June  ;   and  in  many 
places  ledges  of  rock  are  laid  bare,  or  covered 
with  only  a  small  depth  of  water.    I  had  been  . 
warned  of  these  circumstances  by  my  Cupaii 
friends,  but  did  not  form  an  adequate  idea  of 
what  we  should  have  to  undergo.     Canoes, 
in  descending,  only  travel  at  night,  when  the 
terral,  or  light  land  breeze,   blows    off  the; 
eastern  shore.     In  the  daytime  a  strong  wind 
rages  from  down  river,  against  which  it  ia 
impossible  to  contend,  as  there  is.  no  current, 
and  the  swell  raised  by  its  sweeping  over 
scores  of  miles  of  shallow  water  is  dangerous 
to  small  vessels    The  coast  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  distance  affords  no  shelter  :  there 
are,  however,   a  number  of  little  harbors, 
called  esperas,  which  the  canoe-men  calculate- 
upon,  carefully  arranging  each  night  voyage 
so  as  to  reach  one  of  them  before  the  wind 
begins  the  next  morning. 

We  left  Aveyros  in  the  evening  of  the  21st, 
and  sailed  gently  down  with  the  soft  land- 
breeze,  keeping  about  a  mile  £rom  the  east- 
ern shore.  It  was  a  brilliant  moonlit  night, 
and  the  men  worked  cheerfully  at  the  oars, 
when  the  wind  was  slack,  the  terral  wafting 
from  the  forest  a  pleasant  perfume  like  that 
of  mignonette.  At  midnight  we  made  a  fire 
and  got  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  reached  the  sitio  of  Kicardo's, 


THE  NATURALIST   ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


iather,  au  Indian  named  Andre,  where  we 

;  anchored  and  slept. 

September  22d. — Old  Andre  with  his  squaw 

•  came  aboard  this  morning.  They  brought 
ihree  Tracajus,  a  turtle,  and  a  basKetful  of 
Tracaja-  eggs,  to  exchange  with  me  for  cotton 
cloth  and  cashaga.  Ricardo,  who  had  been 
for  some  lime  very  discontented,  having  now 
satisfied  his  longing  to  see  his  parents,  cheer- 
fully agreed  to  accompany  me  to  Santarem. 
The  loss  of  a  man  at  this  juncture  would  have 
been  very  annoying,  wi'th  Captain  Antonio 
ill  at  Aveyros,  and  not  a  hand  to  be  had  any- 
where in  the  neighborhood  ;  but  if  we  had 
not  called  at  Andre's  sitio  we  should  not 
have  been  able  to  have  kept  Ricardo  from 
running  away  at  the  first  landing-place.  He 
was  a  lively,  restless  lad,  and  although  im- 
pudent and  troublesome  at  first,  hud  made  a 
very  good  servant ;  his  companion,  Alberto, 
was  of  quite  a  different  disposition,  being 
extremely  taciturn,  and  going  through  all  his 
duties  with  the  quietest  regularity. 

We  left  at  11  A.M.,  and  progressed  a  little 
before  the  wind  began  to  blow  from  down 
river,  when  we  were  obliged  again  to  cast 

.  .anchor.  The  terral  began  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  and  we  sailed  with  it  past  the 
long  line  of  rock-bound  coast  nearltapuama. 
At  ten  o'clock  a  furious  blast  of  wind  came 
from  a  cleft  between  the  hills,  catching  us 
with  the  sails  close-hauled,  and  throwing  the 
canoe  nearly  on  its  beam-ends,  when  we  were 
about  a  mile  from  the  shore.  Jose  had  the 
presence  of  mind  to  slacken  the  sheet 'of  the 
mainsail,  while  I  leaped  forward  and  lowered 
the  sprit  of  the  foresail,  the  two  Indians 
standing  stupefied  in  the  prow.  It  was  what 
the  canoe-men  called  a  trowada  secca,  or  white 
equall.  The  river  in  a  few  minutes  became 
a  sheet  of  foam  ;  the  wind  ceased  in  about 
half  an  hour,  but  the  terral  was  over  for  the 
night,  so  we  pulled  toward  the  shore  to  find 
an  anchoring  place. 

We  reached  Tapaiuna  by  midnight  on  the 

/23d,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  arrived 
at  the  Retiro,  where  we  met  a  shrewd  Santa- 
rem trader,  whom  I  knew,  Senhor  Chico 
Ilonorio,  who  had  a  larger  and  much  better 
provided  canoe  than  our  own.  The  wind 
was  strong  from  below  all  day,  so  we  re- 
mained at  this  place  in  his  company.  He 
had  his  wife  with  him,  and  a  number  of  In- 
dians, male  and  female.  We  slung  our  ham- 
mocks under  the  trees,  and  breakfasted  and 
lined  together,  our  cloth  being  spread  on  the 
aufiy  l,each  in  the  shade,  after  killing  a 
iiugj  quantity  of  fish  with  timbti,  of  which 
we  had  obtained  a  supply  at  Itapuama.  At 
night  we  v:ere  again  under  weigh  with  the 
land  breeze.  The  water  was  ehoaly  to  a  great 
distance  off  the  coast,  and  our  canoe  having 
the  lighter  draught  went  ahead,  our  leadsman 
crying  out  the  soundings  to  our  companion  : 
the  depth  was  only  one  fathom,  half  a  mile 
from  the  coast.  We  spent  the  next  day 
(25th)  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek  called  Pini, 
•which  is  exactly  opposite  the  village  of  Boim, 

.and  on  the  following  night  advanced  about 
twelve  miles.  Evenv  Doint  of  land  had  jt 


long  split  of  sand  stretching  one  or  two  miles 
toward  the  middle  of  the  n  ver,  which  it  was 
necessary  to  double  by  a  wide  circuit.  The 
terral  failed  us  at  midnight  when  we  were 
near  an  espera,  called  Marai,  the  mouth  of  a 
shallow  creek. 

September  %6th. — I  did  not  like  the  prospect 
of  spending  the  whole  dreary  day  at  Marai', 
where  it  was  impossible  to  ramble  ashore,  the 
forest  being  utterly  impervious,  and  the  land 
still  partly  under  water.  Besides,  we  had 
used  up  our  last,  gtick  of  firewood  to  boil  oui 
coffee  at  sunrise,  and  could  not  get  a  fresh 
supply  at  this  place.  So  there  being  a  dead 
calm  out  the  river  in  the  morning,  I  gave 
orders  at  ten  o'clock  to  move  out  of  the'har- 
bor,  and  try  with  the  oars  to  reach  Paquia- 
tuba,  which  was  only  five  miles  distant.  We 
had  doubled  the  shoaly  point  which  stretches 
from  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  and  were  mak- 
ing way  merrily  across  the  bay,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  the  port  of  the  little  settle- 
ment, when  we  beheld  to  our  dismay,  a  few 
miles  down  the  river,  the  signs  of  the 
violent  day  breeze  coming  down  upon  us 
— a  long,  rapidly  advancing  line  ot  toam 
with  the  darkened  water  behind  it.  Our 
men  strove  in  vain  to  gain  the  harbor  ;  the 
wind  overtook  us,  and  we  cast  anchor  in 
three  fathoms,  with  two  miles  of  shoaly 
water  between  us  and  the  land  on  our  lee.  It 
cable  with  the  force  of  a  squall,  the  heavy 
billows  washing  over  the  vessel  and  drench- 
ing us  with  the  spray.  I  did  not  expect  that 
our  anchor  would  hold  ;  I  gave  out,  how- 
ever, plenty  of  cable,  and  watched  the  result 
at  the  prow  ;  Jose  placing  himself  at  the 
helm,  and  the  men  standing  by  the  jib  and 
foresail,  so  as  to  be  ready  if  we  dragged,  to 
attempt  the  passage  of  the  Mara!  spit,  which 
was  now  almost  dead  to  leeward.  Our  little 
bit  of  iron,  however,  held  its  place  ;  the  bot- 
tom being  fortunately  not  so  sandy  as  in 
most  other  parts  of  the  coast ;  but  our  weak 
cable  then  began  to  cause  us  anxiety.  We 
remained  in  this  position  all  day  without 
food,  for  everything  was  tossing  about  in  the 
hold  ;-  provision-chests,  baskets,  kettles,  and 
crockery.  The  breeze  increased  in  strength 
toward  the  evening,  when  the  sua  set  fiery 
red  behind  the  misty  hills  on  the  western 
shore,  and  the  gloom  of  the  scene  wa^ 
heightened  by  the  strange  contrasts  of  color, 
the  inky  water  and  the  lurid  gleam  of  the 
sky.  Heavy  seas  beat  now  and  then  against 
the  prow  of  our  vessel  with  a  fo»ce  that  made 
her  shiver.  If  we  had  gone  ashore  in  this 
j-lace,  all  my  precious  collections  would  have 
been  inevitably  lost ;  but  we  ourselves  could 
have  scrambled  easily  to  land,  and  re-em- 
barked with  Senhor  Honorio,  who  had  re- 
mained behind  in  the  Pini,  and  would  pass 
in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days.  When 
night  came,  1  lay  down  exhausted  with  watch- 
ing and  fatigue,  and  fell  asleep,  as  my  men 
had  done  some  time  before.  About  nine 
o'clock  I  was  awoke  by  the  montaria  bump- 
ing against  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  which  had 
veered  suddenly  round,  and  the  full  moon, 
-previously  astern,  then  shone  full  in  the 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


715 


<jabin.  The  wind  had  abruptly  ceased,  giv- 
ing place  to  light  puffs  from  the  eastern 
slure,  and  leaving  a  long  swell  rolling  into 
the  shoaly  buy. 

After  this  I  resolved  nut  to  move  a  step  be- 
yind  Paquiatuba  without  an  additional  man, 
and  one  who  understood  the  navigation  of 
the  river  at  this  season.  We  reached  the 
landing  place  at  ten  o'clock,  and  anchored 
within  the  mouth  of  the  creek.  In  the  morn- 
ing 1  walked  through  the  beautiful  shady 
alleys  of  the  forest,  which  were  water-paths 
in  June  when  we  touched  here  in  ascending 
the  river,  to  the  house  of  Inspector  Cypriano. 
After  an  infinite  deal  of  trouble  I  succeeded 
in  persuading  him  to  furnish  me  with  another 
Indian.  There  are  about  thirty  families  es- 
tablished in  this  place,  but  the  able-bodied 
men  had  been  nearly  all  drafted  off  within 
the  last  few  weeks  by  the  Government  to  ac- 
company a  military  expedition  against  run- 
nway  negroes,  settled  in  villages  in  the  in- 
terior.  Senhor  Cypriano  was  a  pleasant- 
looking  and  extremely  civil  young  Mameluco. 
He  accompanied  us,  on  the  nightTof  the  28th, 
£ ve  miles  down  the  river  to  P\>int  Jaguarari, 
There  the  man  lived  whom  he  intended  to 
send  wiili  me.  I  was  glad  to  find  my  new 
hand  a  steady,  middle-aged  and  married  In- 
dian ;  his  name  was  of  very  good  promise, 
Aiigelo  Custodio  (Guardian  Angel). 

Point  Jaguarari  foims  at  this  season  of 
the  year  a  high  sand-bank,  which  is  pro- 
longed as  a  narrow  spit,  stretching  about 
three  miles  toward  the  middle  of  the  river. 
We  rounded  this  with  great  difficulty  in  the 
night  of  the  29th,  reaching  before  daylight 
a  good  shelter  behind  a  similar  sand-bank  at 
Point  Acaratingari,  a  headland  situated  not 
more  than  five  miles  in  a  straight  line  from 
<,ur  last  anchoring  place.  We  remained  here 
all  day  :  the  men  beating  timbo  in  a  quiet 
pool  behind  the  sand-bank  and  the  mainland, 
•  and  obtaining  a  gieat  quantity  of  lish,  from 
which  I  selected  :>ix  species  new  to  my  col- 
lection. We  made  rather  better  progress  the 
two  following  nights,  but  the  terral  now 
always  blew  strongly  from  the  north  north- 
east after  midnight,  and  thus  limited  the 
hours  during  which  we  could  navigate,  forc- 
ing us  to  seek  the  nearest  shelter  to  avoid 
being  driven  back  faster  than  we  came. 

On  the  22d  of  October  we  reached  Point 
Cajetuba,  and  had  a  pleasant  day  ashore. 
The  river  scenery  in  this  neighborhood  is  of 
the  greatest  beauty.  A  few  houses  of  set- 
tlers are  seen^at  the  bottom  of  the  broad  bay 
of  Atamaiia-i  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  richly- 
timbered  hills,  the  high  beach  of  snow-white 
sand  stretching  in  a  bold  curve  from  point  to 
point.  The  opposite  shores  of  the  river  are 
ten  or  eleven  miles  distant,  but  toward  the 
north  is  a  clear  horizon  of  water  and  sky. 
Tiie  country  near  Point  Cajetuba  is  similar 
'ta  the  neighborhood  of  Sanatarem  :  namely, 
•carupos  with  scattered  trees.  We  gathered 
ji  large  quantity  of  wild  fruit :  Caju,  Umiii, 
4ind  Aa  piranha.  The  Umiri  berry  (Humi 
-lium  lioribuudum)  is  a  black  drupe  similar 
in  appea'.uucd  to  the  Damascene  olum  and 


not  greatly  unlike  it  in  taste.  The  Aapirfinga 
is  a  bright  vermilion-colored  berry,  with  a 
hard  skin  and  a  sweet  viscid  pulp  inclosing 
the  seeds.  Betwen  the  point  and  Altar  do 
Chao  was  a  long  stretch  of  sandy  beach  with 
moderately  deep  water  ;  our  men  therefore 
took  a  rope  ashore,  and  towed  the  cuberta  at 
merry  speed  until  we  reached  the  village.  A 
long,  deeply-laden  canoe  with  miners  from 
the  interior  provinces  here  passed  us.  It  was 
manned  by  ten  Indians,  who  propelled  the 
boat  by  poles,  the  men,  five  on  each  side, 
trotting  one  after  the  other  along  a  plank  ar- 
ranged for  the  purpose  from  stem  to  stem. 

It  took  us  two  nights  to  double  Point 
Cururii,  where,  as  already  mentioned,  the 
river  bends  from  its  northerly  course  beyond 
Altar  do  Chad.  A  confused  pile  of  rocks, 
on  which  many  a  vessel  heavily  laden  with 
farinha  has  been  wrecked,  extends  at  the 
season  of  low  water  from  the  foot  of  a  high 
bluff  far  into  the  stream.  We  were  driven 
back  on  the  first  night  (October  3d)  by  a 
squall.  The  light  terral  was  carrying  us 
pleasantly  round  the  spit,  when  a  small  black 
cloud  which  lay  near  the  rising  moon  sud- 
denly spread  over  the  sky  to  the  northward  : 
the  land  breeze  then  ceased,  and  furious  blasts 
began  to  blow  across  the  river.  We  re- 
gained, with  great  difficulty,  the  shelter  of 
the  point.  It  blew  almost  a  hurricane  for 
two  hours,  during  the  whole  of  wh  ch  time 
the  sky  over  ourlieads  was  beautifully  clear 
and  starlit.  Our  shelter  at  first  was  m  t  very 
secure,  for  the  wind  blew  away  the  lashings 
of  our  sails,  and  caused  our  anchor  to  drag. 
Angelo  Custodio,  however,  seized  a  rope 
which  was  attached  to  the  foremast,  and 
leaped  ashore  ;  had  he  not  done  so  we  should 
probably  have  been  driven  many  miles  back- 
ward up  the  storm -tossed  river.  After  the 
cloud  had  passed,  the  regular  east  wiud  be- 
gan to  blow,  and  our  further  progress  was 
effectually  stopped  for  the  night.  The  next 
day  we  all  went  ashore,  afler  securing  well 
Ihe  canoe,  and  slept  from  eleven  o'clock  till 
five,  under  the  shade  of  trees. 

The  distance  between  Point  Cururii  and 
8antarem  was  accomplished  in  three  days, 
against  the  same  difficulties  of  contrary  and 
•  furious  winds,  shonly  water, '  and  rocky 
coasts.  I  was  thankful  at  length  to  be  safely 
housed,  with  the  whole  of  my  collections, 
made  under  so  many  privations  and  perils, 
landed  without  the  loss  or  damage  of  a  speci- 
men. The  men,  after  unloading  the  canoe 
and  delivering  it  to  its  owner,  came  to  receive 
their  payment.  They  took  part  in  goods, 
and  part  in  money,  and  afler  a  good  supper, 
on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  October,  shouldered 
their  bundles  and  set  off  to  walk  by  land  some 
eighty  miles  to  their  homes.  1  was  rather 
surprised  »t  the  eood  feeling  exhibited  by 
these  poor  Indians  at  parting.  Angelo  Cus- 
todio said  that  whenever  1  should  wish  to 
make  another  voyage  up  Ihe  Tapajos,  he 
would  be  always  ready  to  serve  me  as  pilot. 
Alberto  was  undemonstrative  as  usual  ;  but 
Kicardo,  with  whom  1  had  had  many  sharp 
quarrels,  actually  shed  tears  when  he  shook 
^Udsand  bid  me  the  final  "  adeos. " 


716 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZON& 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE  UPPER  AMAZONS— VOYAGE  TO  EGA. 

Departure  from  Barra— Fir*  day  and  fir^t  night  on 
the  Upper  Amazons— Desolate  appearance  of  river 
In  the  flood  season — Cticama  Indians — Mental  con- 
dition of  Indians  — Squalls  — Manatee  — Forest- 
Floating  pumice-stones  from  the  Andes— Falling 
banks— Ega  and  its  inhabitants— Daily  life  of  a  nat- 
uralist at  Ega— The  four  eeasons  of  the  Upper 
Amazons. 

I  MUST  now  take  the  reader  from  the  pic- 
turesque, hilly  country  of  the  Tapajos,  and 
its  dark,  streamless  waters,  to  the  boundless 
wooded  plains  and  yellow  turbid  current  of 
the  Upper  Amazons  or  Solimoens.  I  will  re- 
sume the  narrative  of  my  first  voyage  up  the 
river,  which  was  interrupted  at  tfie  Ban  a  of 
(he  Rio  Negro  in  the  seventh  chapter,  to 
make  way  for  the  description  of  Santaiem 
and  its  neighborhood. 

I  embarked  at  Barra  on  the  26th  of  March, 
1850,  three  years  before  steamers  were  intro- 
duced on  the  upper  river,  inacuberta  which 
was  returning  to  Ega,  the  first  and  only  town 
of  any  importance  in  the  vast  solitudes  of  the 
Solimoens,  from  Santarem,  whither  it  had 
been  sent  with  a  cargo  of  turtle-oil  in  earth- 
enware jars.  The  owner,  an  old  white-haired 
Portuguese  trader  of  Ega,  named  Daniel 
Cardozo,  was  then  at  Baira,  attending  the 
assizes  as  juryman,  a  public  duty  performed 
without  remuneration,  which  took  him  six 
weeks  away  from  his  business.  He  was  about 
to  leave  Barra  himself,  in  a  small  boat,  and 
recommended  me  to  send  forward  my  heavy 
baggage  in  the  cuberta  and  make  the  journey 
with  him.  He  would  reach  Ega,  370  miles 
distant  from  Barra,  in  twelve  or  fourteen 
days  !  while  the  large  vessel  would  be  thirty 
or  forty  days  on  the  road.  I  pieferred,  how- 
ever, to  go  in  company  with  my  luggage, 
looking  forward  to  the  many  opportunities  I 
should  have  of  lauding  and  making  collec- 
tions on  the  banks  of  the  river. 

I  shipped  the  collections  made  between 
Para  and  the  Rio  Negro  in  a  large  cutter 
which  was  about  descending  to  the  capital, 
and  after  a  heavy  days'  work  got  all  my 
chests  aboard  the  Ega  canoe  by  eight  o'clock 
at  night.  The  Indians  were  then  all  em- 
barked, one  of  them  being  brought  dead 
drunk  by  his  companions  and  laid  to  sober 
himself  all  night  on  the  wet  boards  of  the 
toinbadilha.  The  cabo,  a  spirited  young 
white,  named  Estulano  Alves  Carneiro,  who 
has  since  risen  to  be  a  distinguished  citizen 
of  the  new  province  of  the  Upper  Amazons, 
soon  after  gave  orders  to  get  up  the  anchor. 
The  men  took  to  the  oars,  and  in  a  few  hours 
we  crossed  the  broad  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro  ; 
the  night  being  clear,  calm,  and  starlit,  and 
the  surface  of  the  inky  waters  smooth  as  a 
lake. 

When  I  awoke  the  next  morning  we  were 
progressing  by  espia  along  the  left  bank  of 
the  Solimoens.  The  rainy  season  had  now 
set  in  over  the  region  through  which  the 
^reat  river  flows  ;  the  sand-banks  and  all  the 
lower  lands  were  already  un  -er  water,  and 


the  tearing  current,  two  or  three  miles  iw 
breadth,  bore  along  a  continuous  line  of  up- 
rooted trees  and  islets  of  floating  plants.    The 
prospect  was  most  melancholy  ;   no  sound*' 
was  heard   but    the  dull   murmur   of   the. 
waters  ;  the  coast  along  which  we  traveled** 
all  day  was  incumbered  every  step  of  the 
way  with  fallen  trees,  some  of  which  quiv- 
ered in  the  currents  which  set  around  pro- 
jecting points  of  land.     Our  old   pest,  the 
Motuca,  began  to  torment  us  as  soon  as  the. 
sun  gained  power  in  the  morning.     White-, 
egrets  were  plentiful  at  the  edge  of  the  water, . 
and  humming-birds,  in  some  places,  were; 
whirring  about  the  flowers  overhead.     The- 
desolate  appearance  of    the    landscape    in- 
creased after  sunset,  when  the  moon  rose  m* 
mist. 

This  upper  river,  the  Alto-Amazonas,  orr 
Solimoens,  is  always  spoken  of  by  the  Bra- 
zilians as  a  distinct  stieam.  This  is  partly 
owing,  as  before  remarked,  to  the  direction 
it  seems  to  take  at  the  fork  of  the  Rio  Negro  ; : 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  from  their 
partial  knowledge,  not  being  able  to  com- 
prehend the  whole  river  system  in  one  view. . 
It  has,  however,  many  peculiarities  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  lower  course  of  the  river. 
The  trade  wind,  or  sea  breeze,  which: 
reaches,  in  the  height  of  the  dry  season,  as.. 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  900  OB 
1000  miles  from  the  Atlantic,  never  blows  om 
the  upper  river.  The  atmosphere  is  there- 
fore more  stagnant  and  sultry,  and  the  winds 
that  do  prevail  are  of  irregular  direction  and 
short  duration.  A  great  part  of  the  land  on. 
the  borders  of  the  Lower  Amazons  is  hilly  ;,. 
there  are  extensive  campos,  or  open  plains, 
and  long  stretches  of  sandy  soil  clothed  with 
thinner  forests.  The  climate,  in  consequence,, 
is  comparatively  dry,  many  months  in  suc- 
cession during  the  fine  season  passing  with- 
out  rain.  All  this  is  changed  on  the  Soli- 
moens. A  fortnight  of  clear  sunny  weather 
is  a  rarity  :  the  whole  region  through  which, 
the  river  and  its  affluents  flow,  after  leaving; 
the  easternmost  ridges  of  the  Andes,  which. 
Poppig  describes  as  rising  like  a  wall  from 
the  level  country,  240  miles  from  the  Pacific,, 
is  a  vast  plain,  about  1000  miles  in  length, 
and  500  or  600  in  breadth  coveied  with  one, 
uniform,  lofty,  impervious,  and  humid  for- 
est. The  soil  is  nowhere  sandy,  but  always, 
either  a  stiff  clay,  alluvium,  or  vegelahto 
mould,  which  latter,  in  many  places,  is  set.  u 
in  water-worn  sections  of  the  river  banks  t» 
be  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  depth.  With, 
such  a  s.jil  and  climate,  the  luxuriance  of 
vegetation,  and  the  abundance  and  beauty  cf 
animal  forms  which  are  already  s?  great  in. 
the  region  nearer  the  Atlantic,  increase  on 
the  upper  river.  The  fruits,  both  wild  an. I 
cultivated,  common  to  the  two  sections  of 
the  country,  reach  a  progressively  larger  size 
in  advancing  westward,  and  some  trees  whica 
blossom  only  once  a  year  at  Para  and  Sari- 
tarcm  yield  flower  and  fruit  all  the  year 
round  at  Ega.  The  climate  is  healihy, 
a L kd ugh  one  lives  here  as  in  a  permanent. 


THE  NATURALIST   ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


717 


vapor  bath.  I  must  not,  however,  give  here 
a  Ibdgthy  description  of  the  region,  while  we 
are  yet  on  its  threshold.  I  resided  and 
traveled  on  the  Soliinoens  altogether  for  four 
years  Aid  a  half.  The  country  on  its  bor- 
ders is  a  magnificent  wilderness  where  civil- 
ized man,  as  yet,  has  scarcely  obtained  a 
footing,  the  cultivated  ground  from  the  Rio 
Negro  to  the  Andes  amounting  only  to  a  few 
score  acres.  Man,  indeed,  in  any  condition, 
from  his  small  numbers,  makes  but  an  insig- 
nificant figure  in  these  vast  solitudes.  It  may 
be  mentioned  that  the  Solimoens  is  2130 
miles  in  length,  if  we  reckon  from  the  source 
of  what  is  usually  considered  the  main  stream 
(Lake  Lauricocha,  near  Lima) ;  but  2500 
miles  by  the  route  of  the  Ucayali,  the  most 
considerable  and  practicable  fork  of  the  up- 
per part  of  the  river.  It  is  navigable  at  all 
*"asons  by  large  steamers,  for  upward  of  1400 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro. 

On  the  28th  we  passed  the  mouth  of 
Arianii,  a  narrow  inlet  which  communicates 
with  the  Rio  Negro,  emerging  in  front  of 
Barra.  Our  vessel  was  nearly  drawn  into 
this  by  the  violent  current  which  set  from  the 
Solimoens.  The  towing-cable  was  lashed  to 
a  strong  tree  about  thirty  yards  ahead,  and  it 
took  the  whole  strength  of  crew  and  passen- 
gers to  pull  across.  We  passed  the  Guariba, 
a  second  channel  connecting  the  two  rivers, 
on  the  30th,  and  on  the  31st  sailed  past  a 
strangling  settlement  called  Manacapuru, 
situated  on  a  high  rocky  bank.  Many  citi- 
zens of  Barra  have  sitios,  or  country-houses, 
in  this  place,  although  it  is  eighty  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  town  by  the  nearest  road.  Be- 
yond Manacapuru  all  traces  of  high  laud 
cease  ;  both  shores  of  the  river,  hencefor- 
ward for  many  hundred  miles,  are  flat,  ex- 
cept in  places  where  the  Tabatinga  formation 
appears,  in  clayey  elevations  of  from  twenty 
to  forty  feet  above  the  line  of  highest  water. 
The  country  is  so  completely  destitute  of 
rocky  or  gravelly  beds  that  not  a  pebble  is 
seen  during  many  weeks'  journey.  Our 
voyage  was  now  very  monotonous.  After 
leaving  the  last  house  at  Manacapuru  we 
travelled  nineteen  days  without  seeing  a 
human  habitation,  the  few  settlers  being  lo- 
cated on  the  banks  of  inlets  or  lakes  some 
distance  from  the  shores  of  the  main  river. 
We  met  only  one  vessel  during. the  whole  of 
the  time,  and  this  did  not  come  within  hail, 
as  it  was  drifting  down  in  the  middle  of  the 
current  in  a  broad  pait  of  the  river,  two  miles 
from  the  bank  along  which  we  were  labori- 
ously warping  our  course  upward. 

After  the  first  two  or  three  days  we  fell 
into  a  regular  way  of  life  aboard.  Our  crew 
was  composed  of  ten  Indians  of  the  Cucama 
fiation,  whose  native  country  is  a  portion  of 
the  borders  of  the  upper  river,  in  the  neigh- 
.  borhoud  of  Nauta,  in  Peru.  The  Cucamas 
speak  the  Tupi  language,  using,  however,  a 
harsher  accent  than  is  common  among  the 
•semi  civilized  Indians  from  Ega  downward. 
They  are.  a  shrewd,  hard-working  people, 


and  are  the  only  Indians  who  willingly  and 
in  a  body  engage  themselves  to  navigate  the 
canoes  of  traders.  The  pilot,  a  steady  and 
faithful  fellow  named  Vicente,  told  me  that 
he  and  his  companions  had  now  been  fifteen 
months  absent  from  their  wives  and  families, 
and  that  on  arriving  at  Ega  they  intended  to 
take  the  first  chance  of  a  passage  to  Nauta. 
There  was  nothing  in  the  appearance  of  these 
men  to  distinguish  them  from  canoe-men  in 
general.  Some  were  tall  and  well  built, 
others  had  squat  figures  with  broad  shoulders 
and  excessively  thick  arms  and  legs.  No 
two  of  them  were  at  all  similar  in  the  shape 
of  the  head  :  Vicente  had  an  oval  visage, 
with  fine  regular  features,  while  a  litlle 
dumpy  fellow,  the  wag  of  the  party,  waa 
quite  a  Mongolian  in  breadth  and  prominence 
of  cheek,  spread  of  nostrils,  and  obliquity  of 
eyes  ;  but  these  two  formed  the  extremes  as 
to  face  and  figure,  ^oue  of  them  were  tat- 
tooed or  disfigured  in  any  way  ;  and  they 
were  all  quite  destitute  of  beard.  The  Cuca- 
inas  are  notorious  on  the  river  for  their  prov- 
ident habits.  The  desire  of  acquiring  prop- 
erty is  so  rare  a  trait  in  Indians  that  the 
habits  of  these  people  are  remarked  on  with 
surprise  by  the  Brazilians.  The  first  posses- 
sion which  they  strive  to  acquire,  on  de- 
scending the  river  into  Brazil,  which  all  the 
Peruvian  Indians  look  upon  as  a  richer  conn- 
try  than  their  own,  is  a  woodep  tr-iuk  with 
lock  and  key  ;  in  this  ihty  blow  away  care- 
fully all  their  earnings  converted  into  cloth- 
ing, hatchets,  knives,  harpoon  heads,  needles 
and  thread,  and  so  forth.  Their  wages  are 
only  fourpence  or  sixpence  a  day.  which  is 
often  paid  in  goods  charged  a  hundred  per 
cent  above  Paia  prices,  so  that  it  takes  them 
a  long  time  to  fill  their  chest. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  better-be- 
haved set  of  men  on  a  voyage  than  these 
poor  Indians.  During  our  thirty-five  days' 
journey  they  lived  and  worked  together  in 
the  most  perfect  good  fellowship.  I  never 
heard  an  angry  word  pass  among  them. 
Senhor  Estulano  let  them  navigate  the  vessel 
in  their  own  way,  exerting  his  authority  only 
now  and  then  when  they  were  inclined  to  be 
lazy.  Vicente  regulated  the  working  hours. 
These  depended  on  the  darkness  of  the 
nights.  In  the  first  and  second  quarters  of 
the  moon  they  kept  it  up  with  espia,  or  oars, 
until  toward  midnight  ;  in  the  third  and 
fourth  quarters  they  were  allowed  to  go  to 
sleep  soon  after  sunset,  and  aroused  at  thiee 
or  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  resume 
their  work.  On  cool,  rainy  days  we  all  bore 
a  hand  at  the  esjria,  trotting  with  bare  feet 
on  the  sloppy  deck  in  Indian  file,  to  the  tune 
of  some  wild  boatman's  chorus.  We  had  a 
favorable  wind  for  two  days  only  out  of  the 
thirty-five,  by  which  we  made  about  forty 
miles  ;  the  rest  of  our  long  journey  was  ac- 
complished literally  by  pulling  our  way  from 
tree  to  tree.  When  we  encountered  a  re- 
manso  near  the  shoie,  we  got  along  very 
pleasantly  for  a  few  miles  by  rowing  :  but 
•this  was  a  rare  occurrence.  During  leisure 


718 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


the  Indians  employed  themselves  in 
sewing.  Vicente  was  a  good  hand  at  cut- 
ting out  shirts  and  trousers,  and  acted  as 
master  tailor  to  the  whole  party,  each  of  , 
whom  had  a  thick  steel  thimble  and  a  stock 
of  needles  and  thread  of  his  own.  Vicente 
made  for  me  a  set  of  blue-check  cotton  shirts 
Curing  the  passage. 

The  goodness  of  these  Indians,  like  that  of 
most  others  among  whom  I  lived,  consisted 
perhaps  more  in  the  absence  of  active  bad 
qualities  than  in  the  possession  of  good 
,  ones  ;  in  other  words,  it  was  negative  rather 
'than  positive.  Their  phlegmatic,  apathetic 
-  ennperament,  coldness  of  desire  and  deadness 
.tf  feeling,  want  of  curiosity  and  slowness  of 
intellect,  make  the  Amazonian  Indians  very 
uninteresting  companions  anywhere.  Their 
.magination  is  of  a  dull,  gloomy  quality,  and 
they  seemed  never  to  be  stirred  by  the  emo- 
tions— love,  pity,  admiration,  fear,  wonder, 
joy,  enthusiasm.  These  are  characteristics 
of  the  whole  race.  The  good  fellowship  of 
our  Cucamas  seemed  to  arise,  not  from  warm 
sympathy,  but  simply  from  the  absence  of 
eager  selfishness  in  small  matters.  On  the 
morning  when  the  favorable  wind  sprang 
up,  one  of  the  crew,  a  lad  of  about  seventeen 
years  of  age  was  absent  ashore  at  the  time 
of  starting,  having  gone  aione  in  one  of  the 
montarias  to  gather  wild  fruit.  Tfce  sails 
i were  spread,  and  we  travelled  for  several 
(hours  at  great  speed,  leaving  the  poor  fellow 
[  M  paddle  after  us  against  the  strong  current. 
'Vicente,  who  might  have  waited  a  few 
minutes  at  starting,  and  the  others,  only 
laughed  when  the  hardship  of  their  compan- 
ion was  alluded  to.  He  overtook  us  at  night, 
having  worked  his  way  with  frightful  labor 
the  whole  day  without  a  morsel  of  food.  He 
grinned  when  he  came  on  board,  and  not  a 
dozen  words  were  said  on  either  side. 

Their  want  of  curiosity  is  extreme.  One 
day  we  had  an  unusually  sharp  thunder 
shower.  The  crew  were  lying  about  the 
deck,  and  after  each  explosion  all  set  up  a 
loud  laugh  ;  the  wag  of  the  party  exclaiming, 
4  There's  my  old  uncle  hunting  again  !"  an 
expression  showing  the  utter  emptiness  of 
mind  of  the  spokesman.  I  asked  Vicente 
what  he  thought  was  the  cause  of  lightning 
and  thunder.  He  said,  "  Tunaa"  ichoqua," 
—I  don't  know.  He  had  never  given  the 
subject  a  moment's  thought !  It  was  the 
same  with  other  things.  I  asked  him  who 
made  the  sun,  the  stars,  the  trees  ?  He  didn't 
know,  and  had  never  heard  the  subject  men- 
tioned among  his  tribe.  TheTupi  language, 
at  least  as  taught  by  the  old  Jesuits,  has  a 
word — Tupaua— signifying  God.  Vicente 
sometimes  used  this  word,  but  he  showed  by 
i*2S  expressions  that  he  did  not  attach  the 
idea  of  a  Creator  to  it.  He  seemed  to  think 
ic  meant  some  deity,  or  visible  image,  which 
Jie  whites  worshipped  in  the  chinches  he 
nad  seen  iri  the  villages.  None  of  the  Indian 
iribes  on  the  Upper  Amazons  have  au  idea 
ci  a  Supreme  Being,  and  consequently  have 
no  word  to  express  it  in  their  own  languages. 
Vicente  thought  the  river  on  which  we  were 


travelling  encircled  the  whole  earth,  and  that* 
the  land  was  an  island  like  those  seen  in  the^ 
stream,  but  larger.     Here  a  gteam  of  curi- 
osity and  imagination  in  the  Indian  mind  is- 
revealed  :  the  necessity  of  a  theory  of  the; 
earth  and  water  has  been  felt,  and  a  theory 
has  been  suggested.     In  all  other  matters  not: 
concerning  the   common  wants  of  life  the- 
mind  of  Vicente  was  a  blank,  and  such  I 
always  found  to  be  the  case  of  the  Indian  in 
his  natural  state.     Would  a  community  of 
any  race  of  men  be  otherwise,  were  they  iso 
lated  for  centuries  in  a  wilderness  like  tha< 
Amazonian  Indians,  associated  in  small  num 
bers,  wholly  occupied  in  procuring  a  mere; 
subsistence,  and  without  a  written  language, 
or  a  leisured  class  to  hand  down  acquired! 
knowledge  from  generation  to  generation  ? 

One  day  a  smart  squall  gave  us  a  good  lift 
onward  ;  it  came  with  a  cold,  fine,  driving 
rain,  which  enveloped  the  desolate  landscape 
as  with  a  mist  :  the  forest  swayed  and  roared 
with  the  force  of  the  gale,  and  flocks  of  birds, 
were  driven  about  in  alarm  over  the  tree- 
tops.  On  another  occasion  a  similar  squall 
came  from  an  unfavorable  quarter  :  it  fell 
upon  us  quite  unawares  when  we  had  all  our 
sails  out  to  dry,  and  blew  us  broadside  fore- 
most on  the  shore.  The  vessel  was  fairly 
lifted  on  to  the  tall  bushes  which  lined  the 
banks,  but  we  sustained  no  injury  beyond  the •: 
entanglement  of  our  rigging  in  the  branches. 
The  days  and  nights  usually  passed  in  a  dead 
calm,  or  with  light  intermittent  winds  from 
up  river,  and  consequently  full  against  us. 
We  landed  twice  a  day  to  give  ourselves  and 
the  Indians  a  little  rest  ami  change,  and  to 
cook  our  two  meals — breakfast  and  dinner. 
There  was  another  passenger  besides  myself 
— a  cautious  middle-aged  Portuguese,  who 
was  going  to  settle  at  Ega,  where  he  had  a 
brother  long  since  established.  He  was  ac- 
commodated in  the  fore-cabin  or  arched  cover- 
ing over  the  hold  I  shareil  the  cabin-proper 
with  Senhorej*  Estulano  ana  Manuel,  the  lat- 
ter a  young  half-caste,  son-in-law  to  the 
owner  of  the  vessel,  under  whose  tuition  [ 
made  good  progress  in  learning  the  Tupi  lan- 
guage during  the  voyage. 

Our  men  took  it  in  turns,  two  at  a  time,  to 
go  out  fishing,  for  which  purpose  we  carried 
a  spare  montaria.  The  master  had  brought 
from  Barra,  as  provisions,  nothing  but  stale 
salt  pirarecu — half-rotten  fish,  in  large,  thin, 
rusty  slabs— farinha,  coffee,  and  treacle.  In 
these  voyages  passengers  are  expected  to  pro-- 
vide for' themselves,  as  no  charge  is  made  ex- 
cept for  freight  of  the  heavy  luggage  or 
cargo  they  take  with  them.  The  Portuguese 
and  myself  had  brought  a  few  luxuries,  such 
as  beans,  sugar,  biscuits,  tea,  and  so  forth  ; 
but  we  found  ourselves  almost  obliged  to 
share  them  with  our  two  companions  and  the 
pilot,  so  that  before  the  voyage  was  one  third 
finished  the  small  stock  of  most  of  these  arti- 
cles was  exhausted.  In  return  we  shared  in 
whatever  the  men  brought.  Sometimes  they 
were  quite  unsuccessful,  for  fish  is  extremely 
difficult  to  procure  in  the  season  of  high 
jwater,  on  account  of  the  lower  lauds,  lying, 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


719 


t)tt,,oen  t  .e  inlets  and  infinite  chain  of  pools 
and  lakes,  being  flooded  from  the  main  river, 
thus  increasing  tenfold  the  area  over  which 
the  finny  population  has  to  range.  Oil  most 
days,  however,  they  brought  two  or  three 
fine  fish,  and  once  they  harpooned  a  manatee, 
or  Vacca  marina.  On  this  last-mentioned 
occasion  we  made  quite  a  holiday  ;  the  canoe 
was  stopped  for  six  or  seven  hours,  and  all 
turned  out  into  the  forest  to  help  to  skin  and 
cook  the  animal.  The  meat  was  cut  into 
cubical  slabs,  and  each  person  skewered  a 
dozen  or  so  of  these  on  a  long  stick.  Fires 
were  made,  and  the  spits  stuck  in  the  ground 
and  slanted  over  the  flames  to  roast.  A  driz- 
zling rain  fell  all  the  time,  and  the  ground 
around  the  fires  swarmed  with  stinging  ants, 
attracted  by  the  entrails  and  slime  which 
were  scattered  about.  The  meat  has  some- 
v.'hat  the  taste  of  very  coarse  pork  ;  but  the 
fat,  which  lies  in  thick  layers  between  the 
lean  parts,  is  of  a  greenish  color,  and  of  a 
disagreeable,  fishy  flavor.  The  animal  was 
a  large  one,  measuring  nearly  ten  feet  in 
leugth,  and  nine  in  girth  at  the  broadest  part 
The  manatee  is  one  of  the  few  objects  which 
excite  the  dull  wonder  and  curiosity  of  the 
Indians,  notwithstanding  its  commonness. 
The  fact  of  its  suckling  its  young  at  the 
breast,  although  an  aquatic  animal  resem- 
bling a  fish,  seems  to  st  rike  them  as  something 
very  strange.  The  animal,  as  it  lay  on  its  back, 
with  its  broad  rounded  "head  and  muzzle, 
tapering  body,  and  smooth,  thick,  lead-col- 
ored skin,  reminded  me  of  those  Egyptian 
tombs  which  are  made  of  dark,  smooth  stone, 
and  shaped  to  the  human  figure. 

Notwithstanding  the  hard  fare,  the  confine- 
ment of  the  canoe,  the  trying  weather,  fre- 
quent and  drenching  rains,  with  gleams  of 
fiery  sunshine,  and  the  woful  desolation  of 
the  river  scenery,  I  enjoyed  the  vjyage  on 
the  whole.  We  were  not  much  troubled  by 
mosquitoes,  and  therefore  passed  the  nights 
very  p'easantly,  sleeping  on  deck,  wrapped 
in  blankets  or  old  sails.  When  the  rains 
drove  us  below,  we  were  less  comfortable,  as 
there  was  only  just  room  in  the  small  cabin 
for  three  of  us  to  lie  close  together,  and  the 
confined  air  was  stifling.  I  became  mured  to 
the  Piurns  in  the  course  of  the  first  week  ; 
all  the  exposed  parts  of  my  body,  by  that 
lime,  being  so  closely  covered  with  black 
punctures  that  the  little  bloodsuckers  could 
not  very  easily  find  an  unoccupied  place  to 
operate  upon.  Poor  Miguel,  the  Portuguese, 
suffered  horribly  from  these  pests,  his  ankles 
and  wrists  being  so  much  inflamed  that  he 
was  confined  to  his  hammock,  slung  in  the 
hold,  fur  weeks.  At  every  landing  place  I 
had  a  ramble  in  the  forest,  while  the  red- 
skins made  the  fire  and  cooked  the  meal. 
The  result  was  a  large  daily  addition  to  my 
collection  of  insects,  reptiles,  and  shells. 
Sometimes  the  neighborhood  of  our  gypsy  - 
like  encampment  was  a  tract  of  dry  and  spa- 
cious forest,  pleasant  to  ramble  in  ;  but  more 
frequently  it  was  a  rank  wilderness,  into 
which  it  was  impossible  to  penetrate  many 
yards,  on  account  of  uprooted  tiecs, 


webs  of  monstrous  woody  climbers,  thickets 
of  spiny  bamboos,  swamps,  or  obstacles  of 
one  kind  or  other.  The  drier  lands  were 
sometimes  beautified  to  the  highest  degree  by 
groves  of  the  Urucuri  palm  (Attalea  excelsa), 
which  grew  by  thousands  under  the  crowns 
of  the  lofty  ordinary  forest  trees ;  their 
smooth  columnar  stems  being  all  of  nearly 
equal  height  (forty  or  fifty  feet),  and  their 
broad,  finely-pinnated  leaves  interlocking 
above  to  form  arches  and  woven  canopies  of 
elegant  and  diversified  shapes.  The  fruit  of 
this  palm  ripens  on  the  upper  river  in  April, 
and  during  our  voyage  I  saw  immense  quan- 
tities of  it  strewn  about  under  the  trees  in 
places  where  we  encamped.  It  is  similar  in 
size  and  shape  to  the  date,  and  has  a  pleas- 
antly-flavored juicy  pulp.  The  Indiana 
would  not  eat  it ;  I  was  surprised  at  this,  an 
they  greedily  devoured  many  other  kinds  of 
palm  fruit,  whose  sour  and  fibrous  pulp  was 
much  less  palatable.  Vicente  shook  his  head 
when  he  saw  me  one  day  eating  a  quantity 
of  the  Urucuri  plums.  I  am  not  sure  they 
were  not  the  cause  of  a  severe  indigestion 
under  which  I  suffered  for  inauv  dav  s  after- 
ward. 

In  passing  slowly  along  the  ir'^-minable 
wooded  banks  week  after  week,  L  observed 
that  there  were  three  tolerably  distinct  kinds 
of  coast  and  corresponding  forest  constantly 
recurring  on  this  upper  river.  First,  thero 
were  the  low  and  most  recent  alluvial  de- 
posits, a  mixture  of  sand  and  mud,  covered 
with  tall,  broad-leaved  grasses,  or  with  the 
arrow-grass  before  described,  whose  feathery- 
topped  flower-stem  rises  to  a  height  of  four- 
teen or  fifteen  feet.  The  only  large  trees 
which  grow  in  these  places  are  the  Cecropia). 
Many  of  the  smaller  and  rvewer  islands  vveio 
of  this  description.  Secondly,  there  wero 
the  moderately  high  banks,,  which  are  only 
partially  overflowed  when  the  flood  season  is 
at  its  height ;  these  are  w^odeJ  with  a  mag- 
nificent varied  forest,  in  vhich  a  preat  vari- 
ety of  palms  and  broad-leaved  Marantaccse 
form  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  vegeta- 
tion. The  general  foliag".  is  of  a  vivid  light- 
green  hue ;  the  water  frontage  is  some- 
times covered  with  a  diversified  mass  cl 
greenery  ;  but  where  the  current  sets  strongly 
against  the  friable  earthy  banks,  which  at 
low  water  are  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  high, 
these  are  cut  away,  and  expose  a  section  of 
forest,  where  iuc  trunks  of  trees  loaded  witli 
epiphytes  appear  in  massy  colonnades.  One 
might  safely  say  that  tluee  fourths  of  the 
land  bordering  the  Upper  Amazons,  for  a 
thousand  miles,  belong  to  this  second  class. 
The  third  description  of  coast  is  the  higher, 
undulating  clayey  land  which  appears  only  nt 
long  intervals,  but  extends  sometimes  for 
mauy  miles  along  the  borders  of  tho  river. 
The  coast  at  these  places  is  sloping,  and  com- 
posed of  red  or  variegated  clay.  The  fore*  t 
is  of  a  different  character  from  thnt  of  tl:o 
lower  tracts  :  it  is  rounder  in  outline,  moie 
uniform  in  its  general  aspect ;  pnlnia  are 
aiurh  less  numerous  and  of  peculiar  speri'S 
ire  bulging-stemmed  species,  Iriar- 


730 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


tea  ventricosa,  and  the  slender  glossy-leaved 
Bac&ba-i  (^Enocarpus  minor),  being  espe- 
cially characteristic  ;  and,  in  short,  animal 
life,  which  imparts  some  cheerfulness  to  the 
other  parts  of  the  river,  is  seldom  apparent. 
This  "  terra  firme,"  as  it  is  called,  and  a  large 
portion  of  the  fertile  lower  land,  seemed  well 
adapted  for  settlement ;  some  parts  were 
originally  peopled  by  the  aborigines,  but 
these  have  long  since  become  extinct  or  amal- 
gamated with  the  white  immigrants.  I  after- 
ward learned  that  there  were  not  more  than 
eighteen  or  twenty  families  settled  through- 
out the  whole  country  from  Manacapuru  to 
Quary,  a  distance  of  240  miles  ;  and  these,  as 
befoie  observed,  do  not  live  on  the  banks  of 
the  main  stream,  but  on  the  shores  of  inlets 
and  lakes. 

The  fishermen  twice  brought  me  small 
rounded  pieces  of  very  porous  pumice-stone, 
which  they  had  picked  up  floating  on  the 
surface  of  the  main  current  of  the  river. 
They  were  to  ine  objects  of  great  curiosity, 
as  being  messengers  from  the  distant  volca- 
noes of  the  Andes  :  Cotopaxi,  Llanganete,  or 
Sangay,  which  rear  their  peaks  among  the 
rivulets  that  feed  some  of  the  early  tributa- 
ries of  the  Amazons,  such  as  the  Macas,  the 
Pastaza,  and  the  Napo.  The  stones  must 
have  already  travelled  a  distance  of  1200 
miles.  I  afterward  found  them  rather  com- 
mon ;  the  Brazilians  use  them  for  cleaning 
rust  from  their  guns,  and  firmly  believe  them 
(o  be  solidified  river  foam.  A  friend  once 
brought  me,  when  I  lived  at  Santarem,  a 
large  piece  which  had  been  found  in  the  mid- 
dle" of  the  stream  below  Monte  Alegre,  about 
900  miles  farther  down  the  river  ;  having 
reached  this  distance,  pumice-stones  would 
be  pretty  sure  of  being  carriedout  to  sea,  and 
flouted  thence  with  the  north  westerly  Atlan- 
tic current  to  shores  many  thousand  miles 
distant  from  the  volcanoes  which  ejected 
them.  They  are  sometimes  stranded  on  the 
banks  in  different  parts  of  the  river.  Reflect- 
ing on  this  circumstance  since  I  arrived  in 
England,  the  probability  of  these  porous 
fragments  serving  as  vehicles  for  the  trans- 
portation of  seeds  ef  plants,  eggs  of  insects, 
spawn  of  fresh-water  fish,  and  so  forth,  has 
suggested  itself  to  me.  Their  rounded, 
vater-worn  appearance  showed  that  they 
uust  have  been  rolled  a>out  for  a  long  time 
in  the  shallow  streams  near  the  sources  of 
the  rivers  at  the  feet  of  the  volcanoes,  before 
they  leaped  the  waterfaJls  and  embarked  on 
the  currents  which  lead  direct  for  the  Ama- 
zons. They  may  have  been  originally  cast 
im  the  land  aud  afterward  carried  to  the 
Hirers  by  lieshets  ;  in  which  case  the  eggs 
und  seeds  of  land  insects  and  plants  might  be 
incidentally  introduced,  and  safely  inclosed 
with  particles  of  earth  in  their  cavities.  As 
Tie  speed  of  the  current  in  the  rainy  season 
lias  been  observed  to  be  from  three  to  five 
miles  an  hour,  they  might  travel  an  immense 
tlistance  before  the  eggs  or  seeds  were  de- 
stroyed. 1  am  ashamed  to  say  that  I  neglect- 
ed the  opportunity,  while  on  the  spot,  of 
ascertaining  whether  this  was  actually  Uife 


case.  The  attention  of  naturalists  has  only 
lately  been  turned  to  the  important  subject 
of  occasional  means  of  wide  dissemination  of 
species  of  animals  and  plants.  Unless  such 
be  shown  to  exist,  it  is  impossible  to  solve 
some  of  the  most  difficult  problems  connected 
with  the  distribution  of  plants  and  animals. 
Some  species,  with  most  limited  powers  of 
locomotion,  are  found  in  opposite  parts  of 
the  earth,  without  existing  in  the  intermedi- 
ate regions  ;  unless  it  can  be  shown  that 
these  may  have  migrated  or  been  accidentally 
transported  from  one  point  to  the  other,  we 
shall  have  to  come  to  the  strange  conclusion 
that  the  same  species  had  been  created  in  two 
separate  districts. 

Canoe-men  on  the  Upper  Amazons  live  in 
constant  dread  of  the  "  terras  chaidas,"  or 
landslips,  which  occasionally  take  place  along 
the  steep  ear  hy  banks,  especially  when  the 
waters  are  rising.     Large  vessels  are  some- 
times overwhelmed  by  these  avalanches  of 
earth  and  trees.     I  should  have  thought  the 
accounts  of  them  exaggerated  if  I  had  not 
had  an  opportunity  during  this  voyage  of 
seeing  one  on  a  large  scale.     One  morning  I 
was  awoke  before  sunrise    by  an    unusual 
sound  resembling  the  roar  of  artillery.    I  was 
lying  alone  on  the  top  of  the  cabin  ;  it  was 
very  dark,  and    all  my    companions    were 
asleep,  so  1  lay  listening.     The  sounds  came 
from  a  considerable  distance,  and  the  crash 
which  had  aroused  me    was  succeeded  by 
others  much  less  formidable.     The  first  ex 
planation  which  occurred  to  me  was  that  it 
was  an  earthquake  ;  for,  although  the  night 
was  breathlessly  calm,  the  broad  river  was 
much  agitated,  and  the  vessel  rolled  heavily. 
Soon  after,  another  loud  explosion  took  place, 
apparently  much  nearer  than  the  former  one  ; 
then  followed  others.     The  thundering  peal 
rolled  backward  and  forward,  now  seeming 
close    at    hand,  now    far    off ;  the    sudden 
crashes  being  often  succeeded  by  a  pause,  or 
a  long-continued  dull  rumbling.     At  the  sec- 
ond explosion,  Vicente,  who  lay  snoring  by 
the  helm,  awoke  and  told  me  it  was  a  "  terra 
cahida  ;"  but  I  could  scarcely  believe  him. 
The  day  dawned  after  the  uproar  had  lasted 
about  an  hour,  and  we  then  saw  the  work  of 
destruction  going  forward  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  about  three  miles  off.     Large 
masses  of  forest,  including  trees  of  colossal 
size,  probably  200  feet  in  height,  were  rock- 
ing to  and  fro,  and  falling  headlong  one  after 
the  other  into  the  water.     After  each  ava- 
lanche the  wave  which  it  caused  returned  on 
the  crumbly  bank  with  tremendous  force, 
and  caused  the  fall  cf  other  masses  by  under- 
mining them.     The  line  of  coast  over  which 
the  landslip  extended  was  a  mile  or  two  in 
length  ;  the  end  of  it,  however,  was  hid  from 
our  view  by  an  intervening  island.     It  was  a 
grand  sight  ;  each  downfall  created  a  cloud 
of  spray  ;  the  concussion  in  one  place  caus- 
ing other  masses  to  give  way  a  long  distance 
from  it,  and  thus  the    crashes    continued, 
swaying  to  and  fro,  with  little  prospect  of  a 
termination.     When  we  glided  out  of  sight. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS.  7*1 

two  hours  after  sunrise,  the  destruction  was     should  I,  a  solitary  stranger  on  a  strange  er- 
still  going  on.  «  rand,  find  a  welcome  among  its  people  ? 

Our  Indians  resumed  their  oars  at  sunrise 

On  the  22d  we  threaded  the  Parana-mirim  the  next  morning  (May  1st),  and  after  an 
of  Arauana-i,  one  of  the  numerous  narrow  hour's  rowing  along  the  narrow  channel, 
by- waters  which  lie  conveniently  for  canoes  which  varies  in  breadth  from  100  to  500 
away  from  the  main  river,  and  often  save  a  yards,  we  doubled  a  low  wooded  point,  and 
considerable  circuit  round  a  promontory  or  emerged  suddenly  on  the  so-called  Lake  of 
island.  We  rowed  for  half  a  mile  through  a  Ega  :  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water,  five  miles 
magnificent  bed  of  Victoria  water-lilies,  the  broad — the  expanded  portion  of  the  Teffe.  It 
flower-buds  of  which  were  just  beginning  to  is  quite  clear  of  islands,  and  curves  away  to 
expand.  "Beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Catua,  a  the  west  and  south,  so  that  its  full  extent  is 
channel  leading  to  one  of  the  great  lakes  so  not  visible  from  this  side.  To  the  left,  on  a 
numerous  in  the  plains  of  the  Amazons,  which  gentle  grassy  slope  at  the  point  of  junction 
we  passed  on  the  25th,  the  river  appeared  of  a  broad  tributary  with  the  Teffe,  lay  the 
greatly  increased  in  breadth.  We  travelled  little  settlement :  a  cluster  of  a  hundred  or 
for  three  days  along  a  broad  reach,  which  so  of  palm-thatched  cottages  and  white- 
both  up  and  down  river  presented  a  blank  washed  red-tiled  houses,  each  with  its  neatly- 
horizon  of  water  and  sky  :  this  clear  view  inclosed  orchard  of  orange,  lemon,  banana, 
was  owing  to  the  absence  of  islands,  but  it  and  guava  trees.  Groups  of  palms,  with  theii 
renewed  one's  impressions  of  the  magnitude  tall  slender  shafts  and  feathery  crowns,  over- 
of  the  stream,  which  here,  1200  miles  from  topped  the  buildings  and  lower  trees.  A 
its  mouth,  showed  so  little  diminution  of  broad  grass-carpeted  street  led  from  the  nar- 
width.  Farther  westward  a  series  of  large  row  strip  of  white  sandy  beach  to  the  rudely- 
islauds  commences,  which  divides  the  river  built  barn-like  church,  with  its  wooden  cru- 
into  two  and  sometimes  three  channels,  each  cifix  on  the  green  before  it,  in  the  centre  of 
about  a  mile  in  breadth.  We  kept  to  the  the  town.  Cattle  were  grazing  before  the 
southernmost  of  these,  travelling  all  day  on  houses,  and  a  number  of  dark-skinned  natives 
the  30th  of  April  along  a  high  and  rather  were  taking  their  morning  bath  among  the 
sloping  bank.  canoes  of  various  sizes  which  were  anchored 

In  the  evening  we  arrived  at  a  narrow  °r  moored  to  stakes  in  the  port.  We  let  off 
opening,  which  would  betaken,  by  a  stranger  rockets  and  fired  salutes,  according  to  cus- 
navigating  the  main  channel,  for  the  outlet  torn,  in  token  of  our  safe  arrival,  and  shortly 
of  some  insignificant  stream  :  it  was  the  afterward  went  ashore, 
mouth  of  the  Teffe,  on  whose  banks  Ega  is  I  made  Ega  my  headquarters  during  the 
situated,  the  termination  of  our  voyage,  whole  of  the  time  I  remained  on  the  Lpper 
After  having  struggled  for  thirty-five  days  Ainasons  (four  years  and  a  half).  Myexcur- 
with  the  muddy  currents  and  insect  pests  of  sions  into  the  neighboring  region  extended 
the  Solimoens,  it  was  unspeakably  refreshing  sometimes  as  far  as  300  and  400  miles  from  the 
to  find  one's  self  again  in  a  dark-water  river,  place.  An  account  «f  these  excursions  will 
smooth  as  a  lake,  and  free  from  Piurn  and  be  given  in  subsequent  chapters  ;  in  the  in- 
Motuca.  The  rounded  outline,  small  foliage,  tervals  between  them  I  led  a  quiet,  unevent- 
aiid  sombre-green  of  the  woods,  which  seemed  ful  life  in  the  settlement ;  following  my  pur- 
to  rest  on  the  glassy  waters,  made  a  pleasant  suit  in  the  same  peaceful,  regular  way  as  a 
ooritrast  to  the  tumultuous  piles  of  rank,  naturalist  might  dp  in  a  European  village, 
glaring,  light-green  vegetation,  and  torn,  tim-  For  many  weeks  in  succession  my  journal 
ber-strewn  banks,  to  which  we  had  been  so  records  little  more  than  the  notes  made  on 
long  accustomed  on  the  main  river.  The  my  daily  capt ares.  I  had  a  dry  and  spacious 
men  rowed  lazily  until  nightfall,  when,  hav-  cottage,  the  principal  room  of  which  ^ay 
ing  done  a  laborious  day's  work,  they  dis-  made  a  workshop  and  study  ;  here  a  lar^e 
continued  und  went  to  sleep,  intending  to  table  was  placed,  and  my  little  library  vf 
make  for  Ega  in  the  mornng.  It  was  not  reference  arranged  ou  shelves  in  rough 
thought  worth  while  to  secure  the  vessel  to  wooden  boxes.  Cages  for  drying  specimen.* 
the  trees  or  cast  anchor,  as  there  was  no  cur-  were  suspended  from  the  rafters  by  cords 
rent.  I  sat  up  for  two  or  three  hours  after  weji  anointed,  to  prevent  ants  from  aescend- 
my  companions  had  gone  to  rest,  enjoying  jng^  with  a  bitter  vegetable  oil  :  rats  and 
the  solemn  calm  of  the  night.  Not  a  breath  mice  were  kept  from  them  by  inverted  cuyns, 
of  air  stirred  ;  the  sky  was  of  a  deep  blue,  placed  half  way  down  the  cords.  I  always 
and  the  stars  seemed  to  stand  forth  in  sharp  kept  on  hand  a  large  portion  of  ray  private 
relief  ;  there  was  no  sound  of  life  in  the  woods,  collection,  which  contained  a  pair  of  ench 
except  the  occasional  melancholy  note  of  species  and  variety,  for  the  sake  of  corapor. 
some  nocturnal  bird.  I  reflected  on  my  own  jng  the  old  with  the  new  acquisitions.  My 
wandering  life  :  I  had  now  reached  the  end  cottage  was  whitewashed  inside  and  out 
of  the  third  stage  of  my  journey,  and  was  about  once  a  year  by  the  proprietor,  a  native 
now  more  than  half  way  across  the  conti  trader  ;  the  floor  was  of  earth  ;  the  venuia- 
nent.  It  was  necessary  for  me,  on  many  ac-  tion  was  perfect,  for  the  outside  air,  and 
counts,  to  find  a  rich  locality  for  natural  sometimes  the  rain  as  well,  entered  freely 
history  explorations,  and  settle  myself  in  it  through  gaps  at  the  top  of  the  walls  uedtr 
for  some  mouths  or  years.  Would  the  neigh-  me  caves,  and  through  wide  crevices  in  th& 
borhood  of  Ega  turn  «ut  to  be  suitable  t  and  taorways.  Rude  as  the  dwelling  was,  I  look 


T33  THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 

back  with  pleasure  on  the  many  happy  month*  common  enough  in  the  forest,  but  no  fatal 
I  spent  in  It.  I  rose  generally  with  the  sun,  accident  happened  during  the  whole  time  of 
when  the  grassy  streets  were  wet  with  dew,  my  residence. 

and  walked  down  to  the  river  to  bathe  ;  five  1  suffered  most  inconvenience  f i  om  the 
or  six  hours  of  every  morning  were  spent  difficulty  of  getting  news  from  the  civilized 
in  collecting  in  the  forest,  whose  borders  lay  world  down  river,  from  the  irregularity  of 
only  five  minutes'  walk  from  my  house  ;  the  receipt  of  letters,  parcels  of  books  and  peri- 
hot  hours  of  the  afternoon,  between  three  and  odicals,  and  toward  the  latter  part  of  my  resi- 
six  o'clock,  and  the  rainy  days,  were  occu-  dence  from  ill  health  arising  from  bad  and 
pied  in  preparing  and  ticketing  the  specimens,  insufficient  food.  The  want  of  intellectual 
making  notes,  dissecting,  and  drawing.  I  society,  and  of  the  varied  excitement  of 
frequently  had  short  rambles  by  water  in  a  European  life,  was  also  felt  most  acutely,  and 
email  montaria,  with  an  Indian  lad  to  paddle,  this,  instead  of  becoming  deadened  by  time, 
The  neighborhood  yielded  me,  up  to  the  last  increased  until  it  became  almost  insupport- 
day  of  my  residence,  an  uninterrupted  sue-  able.  I  was  obliged,  at  last,  to  come  to  the 
cession  of  new  and  different  forms  in  the  conclusion  that  the  contemplation  of  Nature 
different  classes  of  the  animal  kingdom,  but  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  fill  the  human  heart 
especially  insects.  and  mind.  I  got  on  pretty  well  when  I  re- 

There  were,  of  course,  many  drawbacks  to  ceived  a  parcel  from  England  by  the  steamer 
the  amenities  of  the  place  as  a  residence  for  a  once  in  two  or  four  months.  I  used  to  be 
European  ;  but  these  were  not  of  a  nature  very  economical  with  my  stock  of  reading, 
thtit  my  readers  would  perhaps  imagine,  lest  it  should  be  finished  before  the  next  ar- 
There  was  scarcely  any  danger  from  wild  rival,  and  leave  me  utterly  destitute.  I  went 
auimals  :  it  seems  almost  ridiculous  to  re-  over  the  period:cals,  the  Athenceum,  for  in- 
fute  the  idea  of  danger  from  the  natives,  in  a  stance,  with  great  deliberation,  going  through 
country  where  even  incivility  to  an  unoffend-  every  number  three  times  ;  the  first  time  de- 
ing  stranger  is  a  rarity.  A  Jaguar,  however,  vouring  the  more  interesting  articles;  the 
paid  us  a  visit  one  night.  It  was  considered  second,  the  whole  of  the  remainder  ;  and 
an  extraordinary  event,  and  so  much  uproar  the  third,  reading  all  the  advertisements 
was  mude  by  the  men  who  turned  out  with  from  beginning  to  end.  If  four  mouths  (two 
guns  and  bows  and  arrows  that  the  animal  steamers)  passed  without  a  fresh  parcel,  I 
scampered  off  and  was  heard  of  no  more,  felt  discouraged  in  the  extreme.  I  was  worst 
Alligators  were  rather  troublesome  in  the  dry  off  in  the  first  year,  1850, when  twelve  months 
s<  ason.  During  these  months  there  was  elapsed  without  letters  or  remittances.  Tow 
almost  always  one  or  two  lying  in  wait  near  ard  the  eud  of  this  time  my  clothes  had 
the  bathing  place  for  anything  that  might  worn  to  rags  ;  I  was  barefoot,  a  great  incpii, 
turn  up  at  the  edge  of  the  water  :  dog,  sheep,  venience  in  tropical  forests,  notwithstanding 
pig,  child,  or  drunken  Indian.  When  this  statements  to  the  contrary  that  have  beeu 
visitor  was  about,  every  one  took  extra  care  published  by  travellers  ;  my  servant  ran  away, 
while  bathing.  I  used  to  imitate  the  natives  and  I  was  robbed  of  nearly  all  my  copper 
iti  not  advancing  far  from  the  bank,  and  in  money.  I  was  obliged  then  to  descend  to 
keeping  my  eye  fixed  on  that  of  the  monster,  Para,  but  returned,  after  finishing  theexami- 
which  stares  with  a  disgusting  leer  along  the  nation  of  the  middle  part  of  the  Lower  Aum- 
surface  of  the  water  ;  the  body  being  sub-  zons  and  the  Tapajos,  in  1855,  with  my  San- 
merged  to  the  level  of  the  eyes,  and  the  top  tarem  assistant,  and  better  provided  for  mak- 
of  the  head,  with  part  of  the  dorsal  crest,  the  ing  collections  on  the  upper  river.  This 
only  portions  visible.  When  a  little  motion  second  visit  was  in  pursuit  of  the  plan  before 
was  perceived  in  the  water  behind  the  rep-  mentioned,  of  exploring  in  detail  the  whole 
tile's  tail,  bathers  were  obliged  to  beat  a  valley  of  the  Amazons,  which  I  formed  in 
quick  retreat.  I  was  never  threatened  my-  Para,  in  the  year  1851. 
self,  but  I  often  saw  the  crowds  of  women  During  so  long  a  residence  I  witnessed, 
and  children  scared  while  bathing,  by  the  of  course,  many  changes  in  the  place.  Some 
beast  making  a  movement  toward  them  ;  a  of  the  good  fiiends  who  made  me  welcome 
general  scamper  to  the  shore  and  peals  of  on  my  first  arrival  died,  and  I  followed  their 
laughter  were  always  the  result  in  these  remains  to  their  last  resting-place  in  the  lit- 
cases.  The  men  can  always  destroy  these  tie  rustic  cemetery  on  the  borders  of  the 
alligators  when  they  like  to  take  the  trouble  surrounding  forest.  I  lived  there  long 
to  set  out  with  montarias  and  harpoons  for  enough,  from  first  to  last,  to  see  the  young 
the  purpose;  but  they  never  do  it  unless  one  people  grow  up,  attended  their  weddings, 
of  the  monsters,  bolder  than  usual,  puts  some  and  the  christenings  of  their  children,  and, 
one's  life  in  danger.  This  arouses  them,  and  before  I  left,  saw  them  old  married  folks 
1  hey  tht-n  track  the  eneniy  with  the  greatest  with  numerous  families.  In  1850  Ega  was 
pertinacity  ;  when  half  killed,  they  drag  it  jnly  a  village,  dependent  on  Para,  1400 
ashore  and  dispatch  it  amid  loud  execra-  miles  distant,  as  the  capital  of  the  then  un- 
tions.  Another,  however,  is  sure  to  appear  divided  province.  In  1852,  with  the  creation 
some  days  or  weeks  afterward,  and  take  the  of  the  new  province  of  the  Amazons,  it  be- 
vacant  place  on  the  station.  Besides  alliga-  came  a  city  ;  returned  its  members  to  the 
tors,  the  only  animals  to  be  feared  are  the  provincial  parliament  at  Barra  ;  had  its  as- 
poisonous  serpents.  These  are  certainly  sizes,  its  resident  judges,  and  rose  to  be  the 


THE  NATURALIST   ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


728 


*L«hief  town  of  the  comarca  or  county.    A  year 

;  after  this,  namely,  in  1853,  steamers  were  in- 
troduced on  the  Solimoens  ;  and  from  1855 
one  ran  regularly  every  two  months  between 
the  Rio  Negro  and  Nauta  in  Peru,  touching 

.at  all  the  villages,  and  accomplishing  the 
distance  in  ascending,  about  1200  miles,  in 
eighteen  days.  The  trade  and  population, 
however,  did  not  increase  with  these 
changes.  The  people  became  more  "  civil- 
ized," that  is,  they  began  to  dress  according 
t  >  the  latest  Parisian  fashions,  instead  of 

.  gjiug  about  in  stockingless  feet,  wooden 
clogs,  and  shirt-sleeves  ;  acquiied  a  taste  for 
money-getting  and  office-holding  ;  became 
divided  into  parties,  and  lost  part  of  their 
former  simplicity  of  manners.  But  the  place 
remained,  when  I  left  in  1859,  ptetty  nearly 
what  it  was  when  1  first  arrived  in  1850 — a 

•«emi-Indian  village,  with  much  in  the  ways 
;and  notions  of  its  people  more  like  those  of 
a  small  country  town  in  Northern  Europe 
tnan  a  South  American  settfemeut.  The 
.place  is  healthy,  and  almost  free  from  insect 
pests  ;  perpetual  verdure  surrounds  it ;  the 
.soil  is  of  marvellous  fertility,  even  tor  Brazil ; 
the  endless  rivers  and  labyrinths  of  channels 

•  teem  with  fish  and  turtle  ;  a  fleet  of  steamers 
.might  anchor  at  any  season  of  the  year  in  the 
lake,  which  has  uninterrupted  water  com* 

.munication  straight  to  the  Atlantic.  What 
.a  future  is  in  store  for  the  sleepy  little  tropi- 
cal Tillage  ! 

After  speaking  of  Ega  as  a  city,  it  will 
have  a  ludicrous  effect  to  mention  that  the 
total  number  of  inhabitants  is  only   about 
1200.     It    contains  just  107    houses,  about 
half  of  which  are  miserably  built  mud-walled 
'Cottages,    thatched    with    palm-leaves.      A 
•fourth  of  the  population  are  almost  always 
.absent,  trading  or  collecting  produce  on  the 
livers.     The  neighborhood  within  a  radius 
•of  thirty  miles,  and  including  two  other  small 
•villages,  contains  probably  2000  more  people. 
The  settlement  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the 
country,  having   been  founded  in    1688    by 
.Father  Samuel  Fritz,  a  Bohemian  Jesuit, who 
induced  several  of  the  docile  tribes  of  In- 
dians, then  scattered  over  the  neighboring 
legion,  to  settle  on  the  site.     From  100  to 
.200  acres  of  sloping  ground  around  the  place 
were  afterward  cleared  of  limber  ;  but  such 
is  the  encroaching  vigor  of  vegetation  in  this 

•  country  that  the  site  would  quickly  relapse 
into  jungle  if  the  inhabitant  neglected  to 
pull   up   the  young  shoots  as    they  arose. 
There  is  a  stringent  municipal   law  which 

•  compels  each  resident  t.)  weed  a  given  space 
.  around  his  dwelling.     Every  mouth,  wmle  I 

resided  here,  an  inspector  came  round  with 
.  his  wani  of  authority,  and  fined  every  one 
who  had  not  complied  with  the  regulation. 
'  The  Indians  of  the  surrounding  country  have 
never  been  hostile  to  the  European  settlers. 
The  rebels  of  Para  and  .the  Lower  Amazons, 
i  in  1835-6,  did  not  succeed  in  rousing  the  na- 
tives of  the  Solimoens   against  the  whites. 
.A  party  of  f  oryr  of  them  ascended  the  nver 
-for  that  .purpose,  but  on  arriving  at  Ega,  in- 
j. :  stead  of  .meeting   with   syjupaliibicid  «a  in 


other  places,  they  were  surrounded  by  a 
small  body  of  armed  residents,  and  shot  down 
without  mercy.  The  military  commandant 
at  the  time,  who  was  the  prinio  mover  in  this 
orderly  resistance  to  anarchy,  was  a  cour- 
ageous and  loyal  negro,  named  Jose  Patricio, 
an  officer  known  throughout  the  Upper 
Amazons  for  his  unflinching  honesty  and 
love  of  order,  whose  acquaintance  1  had  thu 
pleasure  of  uiiikiug  at  St.  Paulo  in  1858. 
Ega  was  the  headquarters  of  the  great  scien- 
tific commission,  which  met  in  the  years 
from  1781  to  1791  to  settle  the  boundaries 
between  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  terri- 
tories in  Soutli  America.  The  chief  com- 
missioner for  Spain,  Don  Francisco  Requena, 
lived  some  time  in  the  village  with  his 
family.  I  found  only  one  person  at  Ega, 
my  old  friend  Romao  de  Oliveira,  who  recol- 
lected, or  had  any  knowledge  of  this  impor- 
tant time,  when  a  numerous  staff  of  astrono- 
mers, surveyors,  and  draughtsmen  explored 
much  of  the  surrounding  country,  with  large 
bodies  of  soldiers  and  natives. 

Many  of  the  Ega  Indians,  including  all  the 
domestic  servants,  are  savages  who  have 
been  brought  from  the  neighboring  rivers, 
the  Japura,  the  Issa,  and  the  Solimoens.  I 
saw  here  individuals  of  at  least  sixteen  dif- 
ferent tribes,  most  of  whom  had  beeu 
bought,  when  children,  of  the  native  chiefs. 
This  species  of  slave-dealing,  although  for- 
bidden by  the  laws  of  Brazil,  is  winked  at 
by  the  authorities,  because  without  it  there 
would  be  no  means  of  obtaining  servants. 
They  all  become  their  own  masters  when 
they  grow  up,  and  never  show  the  slightest 
inclination  to  return  to  utter  savage  life. 
But  the  boys  generally  run  away  and  embark 
on  the  canoes  of  traders  ;  and  the  girls  are 
often  badly  treated  by  their  mistresses,  the 
jealous,  passionate,  and  ill-educated  Brazilian 
women.  Nearly  all  the  enmities  which  arise 
among  residents  at  Ega  and  other  places  are 
caused  by  disputes  about  Indian  servants. 
No  one  who  has  lived  only  in  old  settled 
countries,  where  service  can  be  readily 
bought,  can  imagine  the  difficulties  and  an- 
noyances of  a  land  where  the  servant  class 
are  ignorant  of  the  value  of  money,  and 
hands  cannot  be  obtained  except  by  coaxing 
them  from  the  employ  of  other  masters. 

Great  mortality  lakes  place  among  the 
poor  captive  children  on  their  arrival  at  Ega. 
It  is  a  singular  circumstance  that  the  Indians 
residing  on  the  Japura  and  other  tributaries 
always  fall  ill  on  descending  to  the  Solimoeus, 
while  the  reverse  takes  place  with  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  banks  of  the  main  river,  who 
never  fail  of  taking  intermittent  fever  when 
they  first  ascend  these  branch  rivers,  and  of 
getting  well  when  they  return.  The  finest 
tribes  of  savages  who  inhabit  the  country 
near  Ega  are  the  Juris  and  Passes  ;  these 
are  now,  however,  nearly  extinct,  a  few 
families  only  remaining  on  the  banks  of  the 
retired  creeks  counecttd  with  the  Teffe,  and 
on  other  branch  nveis  between  the  Teffe 
and  the  Jutahi.  They  are  a  peacuib'e.  crt-n- 
t.l«  and  industrious  people,  devoted  li> 


724 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


culture  and  fishing,  and  have  always  been 
friendly  to  the  whites.  I  shall  have  occasion 
to  speak  again  of  the  Pusses,  who  are  a  slen- 
derly-built and  superior  race  of  Indians,  dis- 
tinguished by  a  large  square  tattooed  patch 
in  the  middle  of  Iheir  faces.  The  principal 
cause  of  their  decay  in  numbers  seems  to  be 
a  disease  which  always  appears  among  them 
when  a  village  is  visited  by  people  from  tke 
civilized  settlements — a  slow  fever,  accom- 
panied by  the  symptoms  of  a  common  cold, 
"  defluxo,"  as  the  Brazilians  term  it,  ending 
probably  in  consumption.  The  disorder  has 
been  known  to  break  out  when  the  visitors 
were  entirely  free  from  it ;  the  fcimple  con- 
tact of  civilized  men,  in  some  mysterious 
way,  being  sufficient  to  create  it.  It  is  gen- 
erally fatal  to  the  Juris  and  Passes  :  the  first 
question  the  poor  patient  Indians  now  put  to 
an  advancing  canoe  is,  "  Do  you  bring  de- 
fluxo?" 

My  assistant,  Jose,  in  the  last  year  of  our 
residence  at  Ega,  **  resgatou"  (ransomed, 
the  euphemism  in  use  for  purchased)  two 
Indian  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  through  a 
Japura,  trader.  The  boy  was  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  and  of  an  unusually  dark  color 
of  skin  :  he  had,  in  fact,  the  tint  of  a  Caf uzo, 
th«  offspring  of  Indian  and  negro.  It  was 
thought  he  had  belonged  to  some  perfectly 
wild  and  houseless  tri'be,  similar  to  the  Para- 
rauates  of  the  Tapajos,  of  which  there  are 
several  in  different  parts  of  the  interior  of 
South  America.  His  face  was  of  regular 
oval  shape,  but  his  glistening  black  eyes  had 
a  wary,  distrustful  expression,  like  that  of  a 
wild  animal ;  and  his  hands  and  feet  were 
small  and  delicately  formed.  Soon  after  his 
arrival,  finding  that  none  of  the  Indian  boys 
and  girls  in  the  houses  of  our  neighbors  un- 
derstood his  language,  he  became  sulky  and 
reserved  ;  not  a  word  could  be  got  fiom  him 
until  many  weeks  afterward,  when  he  sud- 
denly broke  out  with  complete  phrases  of 
Portuguese.  He  was  ill  of  swollen  liver  and 
spleen,  the  result  of  intermittent  fever,  for 
a  long  time  after  coming  into  our  hands. 
We  had  found  it  difficult  to  cure  him,  owing 
to  his  almost  invincible  habit  of  eating  earth, 
baked  clay,  pitch,  wax,  and  other  similar 
substances.  Very  many  children  on  the 
upper  parts  of  the  Amazons  have  this  strange 
habit ;  not  only  Indians,  but  negroes  and 
whites.  It  is  not,  therefore,  peculiar  to  the 
famous  Otomacs  of  the  Orinoco,  described 
by  Humboldt,  or  to  Indians  at  all,  and  seems 
to  originate  in  a  morbid  craving,  the  result 
of  a  meagre  diet  of  fish,  wild  fruits,  and 
mandioca  meal.  We  gave  our  little  savage 
the  name  of  Sebastian.  The  use  of  these  In- 
dian children  is  to  fill  water-jars  from  the 
river,  gather  fire- wood  in  the  forest,  cook, 
assist  in  paddling  themontaria  in  excursions, 
and  so  forth.  Sebastian  was  often  my  com- 
panion in  the  woods,  where  he  was  very  use- 
,  ful  in  finding  the  small  birds  I  shot,  which 
sometimes  fell  in  the  thickets  among  confused 
masses  of  fallen  branches  and  dead  leaves. 
He  was  wonderfully  expert  at  catching  liz- 
ards with  his  hands,  and  at  climbing.  The 
smoothest  stems  of  palm-trees  offered  little 


difficulty  to  him :  he  would  gather  a  few 
lengths  of  tough  flexible  lianas,  tie  them  in, 
a  short  endless  band  to  support  his  feet  w  itu, 
in  embracing  the  slippery  shaft,  and  theiL 
mount  upward  by  a  succession  of  slight 
jerks.  It  was  very  amusing,  during  the  first- 
few  weeks,  to  witness  the  glee  and  pride  witlk 
which  he  would  bring  to  me  the  bunches  of 
fruit  he  had  gathered  from  almost  inaccessi- 
ble trees.  He  avoided  the  company  of  buys- 
of  his  own  race,  and  was  evidently  proud  of 
being  the  servant  of  a  real  white  man.  We* 
brought  him  down  with  us  to  Para  :  but  hd 
showed  no  emotion  at  any  of  the  strung.) 
sights  of  the  capital :  the  steam  vessels,  largs 
ships  and  houses,  horses  and  carriages,  tlu* 
pomp  of  church  ceremonies,  and  so  forth. 
In  this  he  exhibited  the  usual  dulness  of  feel- 
ing and  poverty  of  thought  of  the  Indian  ;  he 
had,  nevertheless,  very  keen  perceptions,  and. 
was  quick  at  learning  any  mechanical  art. 
Jose,  who  had  resumed,  some  time  before  L 
left  the  country,  his  old  trade  of  goldsmith, 
made  him  his  apprentice,  and  he  made  very 
rapid  progress  ;  for  after  about  three  mouths* 
teaching  he  came  to  me  one  day  with  radiant, 
countenance,  and  showed  me  a  gold  ring  of 
his  own  making. 

The  fate  of  the  little  girl,  who  came  with 
a  second  batch  of  children  all  ill  of  intermit, 
tent  fever,  a  month  or  two  after  Sebastian* 
was  very  different.  She  was  brought  to  our 
house,  after  landing,  one  night  in  the  wet 
season,  when  the  rain  was  pouring  in  tor- 
rents, thin  and  haggard,  drenched  with  wet, 
and  shivering  with  ague.  And  old  Indians 
who  brought  her  to  the  door,  said  briefly, 
"  ecui  eucommeiida"  (here's  your  little  par- 
cel, or  order),  and  went  away.  TLiere  wa* 
very  little  of  the  savage  in  her  appearance, 
and  she  was  of  a  much  lighter  color  than  the- 
boy.  We  found  she  was  of  the  Miranha. 
tribe,  all  of  whom  are  distinguished  by  a  slit, 
cut  in  the  middle  of  each  wing  of  the  nose, 
in  which  they  wear  on  holiday  occasions  a-, 
large  button  made  of  pearly  river  sh-jll.  We 
took  the  greatest  care  of  our  little  patient ;. 
had  the  best  nurses  in  the  town,  fomented 
her  daily,  gave  her  quinine  and  the  most, 
nourishing  food  ;  but  it  was  all  of  no  avail ; 
she  sank  rapidly  ;  her  liver  was  enormously- 
swollen,  and  almost  as  hard  to  the  touch  as^ 
stone.  There  was  something  uncommonly 
pleasing  in  her  ways,  and  quite  unlike  any- 
thing I  had  yet  seen  in  Indians.  Instead  of 
being  dull  and  taciturn,  she  was  always 
smiling  and  full  of  talk.  We  had  an  old 
woman  of  the  same  tribe  to  attend  her,  who 
explained  what  she  said  to  us.  She  of  tea 
begged  to  be  taken  to  the  river  to  bathe  : 
asked  for  fruit,  or  coveted  articles  she  saw 
in  the  room  for  playthings.  Her  native  name 
was  Oria.  The  last  week  or  two  she  could 
not  rise  from  the  bed  we  had  made  for  her  ini 
a  dry  corner  of  the  room  :  when  she  wanted 
lifting,  which  was  very  often,  she  would 
allow  no  one  to  help  her  but  me,  calling  me  by~ 
the  name  of  "  Oariwa"  (white  man),  the  only- 
word  of  Tupi  she  seemed  to  know.  It  wa& 
inexpressibly  touching  to  hear  her,  as  she  lay, 
the  hour  the  verses  which  sh&> 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


»aad  been  taught  to  recite  with  her  compan- 
ions in  her  native  village :  a  few  sentences 
^repeated  operand  over  again  with  a  rhythmic 
accent,  and  relating  to  objects  and  incidents 
^connected  with  the  wild  life  of  her  tribe. 
~V\  e  had  her  baptized  before  she  died,  and 
-when  this  latter  event  happened,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  wishes  of  the  big  people  of  Ega 
1  insisted  on  burying  her  with  the  same 
honors  as  a  child  of  I  he  whites  ;  that  is,  as 
an  "  aniinho"  (little  angel),  according  to  the 
pretty  Roman  Catholic" custom  of  the  coun- 
try. We  had  the  corpse  clothed  in  a  robe  of 
"fine  calico,  crossed  her  hands  on  her  breast 
•over  a  "  palma"  of  flowers,  and  made  also  a 
-crown  of  flowers  for  her  head.  Scores  of 
helpless  children  like  our  poor  Oria  die  at 
Ega,  or  on  the  road  ;  but  generally  not  the 
slightest  care  is  taken  of  them  during  tneir 
illness.  They  are  the  captives  made  during 
the  merciless  raids  of  one  section  of  the  Mi- 
lanha  tribe  on  the  territories  of  another,  and 
.-sold  to  the  Ega  traders.  The  villages  of  the 
attacked  hordes  are  surprised,  and  the  men 
and  women  killed  or  driven  into  the  thickets 
"without  having  time  to  save  their  children. 
There  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  Mi- 
iranhas  are  cannibals,  and  therefore  the  pur- 
chase of  these  captives  probably  saves  them 
if rom  a  worse  fate.  The  demand  for  them  at 
Ega  operates,  however,  as  a  direct  cause  of 
4he  supply,  stimulating  the  unscrupulous 
•chiefs,  who  receive  all  the  profits,  to  under- 
take these  murderous  expeditions. 

It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  the  savages 
>of  the  various  nations,  which  each  have  their 
<ovrn,  to  all  appearance,  widely  different  lan- 
•gnage,  learn  Tupi  on  their  arrival  at  Ega, 
where  it  is  the  common  idiom.  This  per- 
haps may  be  attributed  chiefly  to  the  gram 
matical  forms  of  all  the  Indian  tongues  being 
the  same,  although  the  words  are  different. 
As  far  as  I  could  learn,  the  feature  is  com- 
Jinan  to  all,  of  placing  the  preposition  after 
•the  noun,  making  it,  in  fact,  a  post- position, 
thus  :  "  He  is  come  the  village  from  /"  "  Go 
him  with,  the  plantation  to,"  and  so  forth. 
The  ideas  to  be  expressed  in  their  limited 
sphere  of  life  and  thought  are  few  ;  conse- 
quently the  stock  of  words  is  extremely 
.small  ;  besides,  all  Indians  have  the  same 
-way  of  thinking,  and  the  same  objects  to  talk 
.about  ;  these  circumstances  also  contribute  to 
the  ease  wiih  which  they  learn  each  other's 
language.  Hordes  of  the  same  tribe  living 
on  the  same  branch  rivers,  speak  mutually 
unintelligible  languages  ;  this  happens  with 
the  Miranhas  on  the  Japura,  and  with  the 
'Collinas  on  the  Jurua  ;  while  Tupi  is  spoken 
with  little  corruption  along  the  banks  of  the 
snata  Amazons  for  a  distance  of  2500  miles. 
The  purity  of  Tupi  is  kept  up  by  frequent 
'Communication  among  the  natives,  from  one 
<end  to  the  other  of  the  main  river  ;  how 
•complete  and  long-continued  must  betheiso- 
.lation  in  which  the  small  groups  of  savages 
Jiave  lived  in  other  parts,  t,o  have  caused  so 
•complete  a  segregation  of  dialects  !  It  is 
probable  that  the  strange  inflexibility  of  the 
indiau  organization,  both  bodily  and  mental 


is  owing  to  the  isolation  in  which  each  small 
tribe  has  lived,  and  to  tho  narrow  round  of 
life  and  thought,  and  close  intermarriages 
for  countless  generations,  which  are  the 
necessary  results.  Their  fecundity  is  of  a 
low  degree,  for  it  is  very  rare  to  find  an  In- 
dian family  having  so  many  as  four  children, 
and  we  have  seen  how  great  is  their  liability 
to  sickness  and  death  on  removal  from  place 
to  place. 

I  have  already  remarked  on  the  different 
way  in  which  the  climate  of  this  equatorial 
region  affects  Indians  and  negroes.  No  one 
could  live  long  among  the  Indians  of  the 
Upper  Amazons  without  being  struck  with 
their  constitutional  dislike  to  the  heat.  Euro- 
peans certainly  withstand  the  high  tempera- 
ture better  than  the  original  inhabitants  of 
the  country  ;  I  always  found  I  could  myself 
bear  exposure  to  the  sun  or  unusually  hot 
weather  quite  as  well  as  the  Indians,  although 
not  well  fitted  by  nature  for  a  hot  climate 
Their  skin  is  always  hot  to  the  touch,  and 
they  perspire  little.  No  Indian  resident  of 
Ega  can  be  induced  to  stay  in  the  village 
(where  the  heat  is  felt  more  than  in  the  for- 
est or  on  the  river)  for  many  days  together. 
They  bathe  many  times  a  day,  but  do  not 
plunge  in  the  water,  taking  merely  a  trite-bath, 
as  dogs  may  be  seen  doing  in  hot  climates,  to 
cool  the  lower  parts  of  the  body.  The  wom- 
en and  children,  who  often  remain  at  home, 
while  the  men  are  out  for  many  days  together 
fishing,  generally  find  some  excuse  for  troop- 
ing irtf  to  the  shade  of  the  forest  in  the  hot 
hours  of  the  afternoon.  They  are  restless 
and  discontented  in  fine  dry  weather,  but 
cheerful  in  cool  days,  when  the  rain  is  pour- 
ing down  on  their  naked  backs.  When  suf- 
fering under  fever,  nothing  but  strict  watch- 
ing can  prevent  them  from  going  down  to 
bathe  in  the  river,  or  eating  immoderate 
quantities  of  juicy  fruits,  although  these  in- 
dulgences are  frequently  the  cause  of  death. 
They  are  very  subject  to  disorders  of  the 
liver,  dysentery,  and  other  diseases  of  hot 
climates  ;  and  when  any  epidemic  is  about 
they  fall  ill  quicker,  and  suffer  more  than 
negroes  or  even  whites.  How  different  all 
this  is  with  the  negro,  the  true  child  of  tropi- 
cal climes  !  The  impression  gradually  foiced 
itself  on  my  mind  that  the  red  Indian  lives 
as  a  stranger  or  immigrant  in  these  hot  re- 
gions, and  that  his  constitution  was  not 
originally  adapted,  and  has  not  since  become 
perfectly  adapted,  to  the  climate. 

The  Indian  element  is  very  prominent  in 
the  amusements  of  the  Ega  people.  All  the 
Roman  Catholic  holidays  are  kept  up  with 
great  spirit,  rude  Indian  sports  being  min- 
gled with  the  ceremonies  introduced  by  the 
Portuguese.  Besides  these,  the  aborigines, 
celebrate  their  own  ruder  festivals  ;  the  peo- 
ple of  different  tribes  combining  ;  for,  in 
most  of  their  features,  the  merry-makings 
were  originally  alike  in  all  the  tribes.  The 
Indian  idea  of  a  holiday  is  bonfires,  proces- 
sions, masquerHding,  especially  the  mimicry 
of  different  kinds  of  animals,  plenty  of  con- 
fused diumming  and  fifiug,  monotonous 


726 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


dancing,  kept  up  hour  after  hour  without  in- 
te'rmis&ion,  and,  the  most  important  point  of 
all,  getting  gradually  and  completely  drunk. 
But  he  attaches  a  kind  of  superstitious  sig- 
nificance to  these  acts,  and  thinks  that  the 
amusements  appended  to  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic holidays,  as  celebrated  by  the  descendants 
of  the  Portuguese,  are  also  an  essential  part 
of  the  religious  ceremonies.  But  in  this  re- 
spect the  uneducated  whites  and  half-breeds 
are  not  a  bit  more  enlightened  than  the  poor 
dull-souled  Indian.  All  look  upon  a  religious 
holiday  as  an  amusement,  in  which  the  priest 
takes  the  part  of  director  or  chief  actor. 

Almost  every  unusual  event,  independent 
of  saints'  days,  is  made  the  occasion  of  a 
holiday  by  the  sociable,  easy-going  people  of 
the  white  and  mameluco  classes  ;  funerals, 
christenings,  weddings,  the  arrival  of  stran- 
gers, and  so  forth.  The  custom  of  "  wak- 
ing" the  dead  is  also  kept  up.  A  few  days 
after  I  arrived  I  was  awoke  in  the  middle  of 
a  dark  moist  night  by  Cardozo,  to  sit  up  with 
a  neighbor  whose  wife  had  just  died.  I 
found  the  body  laid  out  on  a  table,  with  cru- 
cifix and  lighted  wax  caudles  at  the  head, 
arid  the  room  full  of  women  and  giils  squat- 
ted on  stools  or  on  their  haunches.  The  men 
were  seated  round  the  open  door,  smoking, 
drinking  coffee,  and  telling  stories,  the  be- 
reaved husband  exciting  himself  much  to 
keep  the  people  merry  during  the  remainder 
of  the  night.  The  Ega  people  seem  to  like 
an  excuse  for  turning  night  into  day  ;  it  is 
so  cool  and  pleasant,  and  they  can  sit  about 
during  these  hours  in  the  open  air,  clad  as 
usual  in  simple  shirt  and  trousers,  without 
streaming  with  perspiration. 

The  patron  saint  is  Santa  Theresa  ;  the 
festival  at  whose  anniversary  lasts,  like  most 
of  the  others,  ten  days.  It  begins  very 
quietly  with  evening  litanies  sung  in  the 
church,  which  are  attended  by  the  greater 
part  of  the  population,  all  clean  and  gayly 
dressed  in  calicoes  and  muslins  ;  the  girls 
wearing  jasmines  and  other  natural  flowers 
in  the  hair,  no  other  head-dress  being  worn 
by  females  of  any  class.  The  evenings  pass 
pleasantly;  the  church  is  lighted  up  with 
wax  candles,  and  illuminated  on  the  outside 
by  a  great  number  of  little  oil  lamps — rude 
clay  cups,  or  halves  of  the  thick  rind  of  the 
bitter  orange,  which  are  fixed  all  over  the 
front.  The  congregation  seem  very  atten- 
tive, and  the  responses  to  the  litany  of  Our 
Lady,  sung  by  a  couple  of  hundred  fresh 
female  voices,  ring  agreeably  through  the 
still  village.  Toward  the  end  of  the  festival 
the  fun  commences.  The  managers  of  the 
feast  keep  open  houses,  and  dancing,  drum- 
ming, tinkling  of  wire  guitars,  and  unbridled 
drinking  by  both  sexes,  old  and  young,  are 
kept  up  for  a  couple  of  days  and  a  night  with 
little  intermission.  The  ways  of  the  people 
at  these  merry-makings,  of  which  there  are 
many  in  the  course o-f  the  year,  always  struck 
me  as  being  not  very  greatly  different  frcm 
those  seen  at  an  old-fashioned  village  wake 
in  retired  parts  of  England.  Th«  old  folks 
look  on  and  get  very  talkative  over 


cups  ;  the  children  are  allowed  a  little  extra,, 
indulgence  in  sitting  up;  the  dull,  reseiveu? 
fellows  become  loquacious,  shake  one  another 
by  the  hand  or  slap  each  other  on  the  back,, 
discovering,  all  at  once,  what  capital  friends- 
they  are.     The  cantankerous  individual  gels- 
quarrelsome,  and  the  amorous  unusually  )  iv- 
irig.    The  Indian,  ordinarily  so  taciturn "  limls 
the  use  of  his  tongue,  and  gives  the  minrU'^t 
details  of  some  little  dispute  which  he  hail 
with  his  master  years  ago,  and  which  every 
one  else  had  forgotten  ;  just  aslhave  known-;, 
lumpish  laboring  men  in  England  do,  when 
half-fuddled.      One  cannot  help   reflecting, 
when  witnessing  these  traits  of  manners,  or> 
the  similarity  of  human  nature  everywhere, 
when  classes  are  compared  whose  state  of" 
culture    and    conditions  of  life   are    pretty 
nearly  the  same. 

The  Indians  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
amusements  at  St.  John's  eve,  and  at  one  or 
two  other  holidays  which  happen  about  that- 
time  of  the  year — the  end  of  June.  lu  some 
of  the  sports  the  Portuguese  element  is  visi- 
ble, in  others  the  Indian, ;  but  it  must  be 
recollected  that  masquerading,  recitative 
singing,  and  so  forth  are  common  originally 
to  both  peoples.  A  large  number  of  men  and 
boys  disguise  themselves  to  represent  differ, 
ent  grotesque  figures,  animals,  or  pel  sous. 
Two  or  three  dress  themselves  up  as  giants, 
with  the  help  of  a  tall  framework.  One  en- 
acts the  part  of  the  Caypor,  a  kind  of  sylvan 
deity  similar  to  the  Curupira  which  I  have 
before  mentioned.  The  belief  in  this  being 
seems  to  be  common  to  all  the  tribes  of  tho 
Tupi  stock.  According  to  the  figure  they 
dressed  up  at  Ega,  he  is  a  bulky,  misshapen 
monster,  with  red  skin  and  Jong  shaggy  reel 
hair  hanging  half  way  down  is  back.  They 
believe  that  he  has  subterranean  campos  and 
hunting-grounds  in  the  forest,  well  stocked 
with  pacas  and  deer.  He  is  not  at  all  an  ob- 
ject of  worship,  nor  of  fear,  except  to  <  h  1- 
dren,  being  considered  merely  as  a  kind  i>f 
hobgoblin.  Most  of  the  maskers  make  them- 
selves up  as  animals — bulls,  deer,  magoary, 
storks,  jaguars,  and  so  forth,  with  the  aid  of 
light  frameworks,  covered  with  old  clotli 
dyed  or  painted,  and  shaped  according  to  the 
object  represented.  Some  of  the  imitations- • 
which  I  saw  were  capital.  One  ingenious  . 
fellow  arranged  an  old  piece  of  canvas  in  the 
form  of  a  tapir,  placed  himself  under  it,  and 
crawled  about  on  aU  fours.  He  constructed 
an  elastic  nose  to  resemble  that  of  the  tapir, 
and  made,  before  the  doors  of  the  principal 
residents,  such  a  good  imitation  of  the  beast 
grazing,  that  peals  of  laughter  greeted  him 
wherever  he  went.  Another  man  walked 
about  solitarily,  masked  as  a  jabiiu  crane  (a 
large  animal  standing  about  four  feet  high), 
and  mimicked  the  gait  and  habits  of  the  bird 
uncommonly  well.  One  year  an  Indian  lad 
imitated  me,  to  the  infinite  amusement  of  the 
townsfolk.  He  came  the  previous  day  to  bor- 
row of  me  an  old  blouse  and  si  raw  hat.  I 
felt  rather  taken  in  when  I  saw  him,  on  the 
night  of  the  performance,  ligged  out  as  an., 
eutomologist4  willi  an.  inject  net, 


shapes,  pieces  of  the  lean  part  roasted  OH  a 
spit  and  moistened  only  with  vinegar  make 
an  agreeable  change.  The  smaller  kind  of 
turtle,  the  tracaja,  which  makes  its  appear- 
ance in  the  main  river,  and  lays  its  eggs  a 
month  earlier  than  the  large  species,  is  of  less 
utility  to  the  inhabitants,  although  its  flesh 
is  superior,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of 
keeping  it  alive  ;  it  survives  captivity  but  a 
very  few  days,  although  placed  in  the  same 
ponds  in  which  the  large  turtle  keeps  well 
for  two  or  three  years. 

Those  who  cannot  hunt  and  fish  for  them- 
selves, and  whose  stomachs  refuse  turtle,  are 
in  a  poor  way  at  Ega.  Fish,  including  many 
kinds  of  large  and  delicious  salmon  idae,  is 
abundant  in  the  fine  season  ;  but  each  family 
fishes  only  for  itself,  and  has  no  surplus  for 
sale.  An  Indian  fisherman  remains  out  just 
long  enough  to  draw  what  he  thinks  suffi- 
cient for  a  couple  of  days'  consumption. 
Vacca  marina  is  a  great  resource  in  the  wet 
it  is  caught  by  harpooning,  which 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS.  787 

l)ag,  and  pincushion.  To  make  the  imitation  the  fat  form  another  palatable  dish.  Largi 
complete,  he  had  borrowed  the  frame  of  an  sausages  are  made  of  the  thick-coated  storn- 
•old  pair  of  spectacles,  and  went  about  with  ach,  which  is  filled  with  minced  meat  and 
it  straddled  over  his  nose.  The  jaguar  now  boiled.  The  quarters  cooked  in  a  kettle  of 
tind  then  made  a  raid  among  the  crowd  of  Tucupi  source  form  another  variety  of  food, 
boys  who  were  dressed  as  deer,  goats,  and  go  When  surfeited  with  turtle  in  all  other 
i u rth.  The  maskers  kept  generally  together, 
.moving  from  house  to  house,  and  the  per- 
formances were  directed  by  an  old  musician, 
who  sang  the  orders  and  explained  to  the 
•spectators  what  was  going  forward  in  a  kind 
of  recitative,  accompanying  himself  ou  a  wire 
..guitar.  The  mixture  of  Portuguese  and  In- 
dian customs  is  partly  owing  to  the  European 
immigrants  in  these  part*  having  been  un- 
educated men,  who,  instead  of  introducing 
European  civilization,  have  descended  almost 
to  the  level  of  the  Indians,  and  adopted  some 
of  their  practices.  The  performances  take 
place  in  the  evening,  and  occupy  five  or  six 
iiours  ;  bonfires  are  lighted  along  the  grassy 
streets,  and  the  families  of  the  better  class 
are  seated  at  their  doors,  enjoying  the  wild 
but  good-humored  fun. 

We  lived  at  Ega,  during  most  part  of  the 
year,  on  turtle.  The  great  fresh- water  turtle 
of  the  Amazons  grows  on  the  upper  river  to 
an  immense  size,  a  full-grown  one  measuring 

nearly  three  feet  in  length  by  two  in  breadth,    season  _,w o, 

nnd  is  a  lead  for  the  strongest  Indian.  Every  requires  much  skill,  or  by  strong  nets  made 
house  has  a  little  pond,  called  a  curral  (pen),  ef  very  thick  hammock  twine,  and  placed 
in  the  back-yard  to  hold  a  stock  of  the  ani  across  the  narrow  inlets.  Very  few  Euro- 
mals  through  the  season  of  dearth — the  wet  peans  are  able  to  eat  the  meat  of  this  animal, 
months;  those  who  have  a  number  of  In-  Although  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  cattle 
dians  in  their  employ  send  them  out  for  a  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town,  and  pasture 
month  when  the  waters  are  low  to  collect  a  is  abundant  all  the  year  round,  beef  can  be 
stock,  and  those  who  have  not,  purchase  had  only  when  a  beast  is  killed  by  accident, 
their  supply  ;  with  some  difficulty,  however,  The  most  frequent  cause  of  death  is  poison- 
.as  they  are  rarely  offered  for  sale.  The  price  ing  by  drinking  raw  ucupi,  the  juice  of  the 
of  turtles,  like  that  of  all  other  articles  of  mandioca  root.  Bowls  of  this  are  placed  on 
food,  has  risen  greatly  with  the  introduction  the  ground  in  the  sheds  where  the  women 
of  steam  vessels.  V\  hen  I  arrived  in  1850,  a  prepare  farinha  ;  it  is  generally  done  care- 
middle-sized  one  could  be  bought  pretty  lessly,  but  sometimes  intentionally,  through 
readily  for  ninepence  ;  but  when  I  left  in  spite,  when  stray  oxen  devastate  the  planta- 
1859  they  were  with  difficulty  obtained  at  tions  of  the  poorer  people.  The  juice  is  almost 
eight  and  nine  shillings  each.  The  abun-  certain  to  be  drunk  if  cattle  stray  near  the 
dance  of  turtles,  or  rather  the  facility  with  place,  and  death  is  the  certain  result.  The 
which  thev  can  be  found  and  caught,  vanes  owners  kill  a  beast  which  shows  symptoms  of 
with  the  amount  of  annual  subsidence  of  the  having  been  poisoned,  and  retail, the  beef  in 
waters.  When  the  river  sinks  less  than  the  the  town.  Although  every  one  knows  it 
average,  they  are  scarce  ;  but  when  more,  cannot  be  wholesome,  such  is  the  scarcity  of 
they  can  be  caught  in  plenty,  the  bays  and  meat  and  the  uncontrollable  desire  to  eat 
shallow  lagoons  in  the  forest  having  then  beef,  that  it  is  eagerly  bought,  at  least  by 
only  a  small  depth  of  water.  The  flesh  is  those  residents  who  come  from  other  prov- 
very  tender,  palatable,  and  wholesome  ;  but  inces  where  beef  is  the  staple  article  of 
it  is  Tcery  cloying  ;  every  one  ends,  sooner  or  food.  Game  of  a*  kinds  is  scarce  in  the  for- 
later,  by  becoming  thoroughly  surfeited.  I  est  near  the  town,  except  in  the  months  of 
became  so  sick  of  turtle  in  the  course  of  two  June  and  July,  when  immense  numbers  of  a 
years  that  I  could  not  bear  the  smell  of  it  large  and  handsome  bird,  Cuvier's  toucan 
although  at  the  same  time  nothing  else  was  (Ramphastos  Cuvieri)make  their  appearance, 
to  be  had,  and  I  was  suffering  actual  hunger.  They  come  in  well-fed  condition,  and  are 
The  native  women  cook  it  in  various  ways,  shot  in  such  quantities  that  every  family  has 
The  entrails  are  chopped  up  and  made  into  the  strange  treat  of  stewed  and  roasted  tou- 
a  delicious  soup  called  sarapatel,  which  is  cans  daily  for  many  weeks.  Curassow  birds 
generally  boiled  in  the  concave  upper  shell  are  plentiful  on  the  banks  of  the  Solimoens, 
of  the  animal  used  as  a  kettle.  The  tender  but  to  get  a  brace  or  two  requires  the  sacri- 
flesh  of  the  breast  is  partiaUy  minced  with  lice  of  several  days  for  the  trip.  A  tapir,  of 
fariuha,  and  the  breast  shell  then  roasted  which  the  meat  is  most  delicious  and  nour- 
over  the  lire,  making  a  very  pleasant  dish,  ishing,  is  sometimes  killed  by  a  fortunate 
•Steaks  cut  from  the  breast  and  cooked  with  kunter.  I  have  still  a  livelv  recollection  of 


728 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZQNE 


the  pleasant  effects  which  I  once  experienced 
from  a  di»t  of  fresh  tapir  meat  for  a  few 
days,  after  having  been  brought  to  a  painful 
state  of  bodily  and  mental  depression  by  a 
month's  scanty  rations  of  fish  and  farinha. 

We  sometimes  had  fresh  bread  at  Ega, 
made  from  American  flour  brought  from 
Para,  but  it  was  sold  at  ninepeuee  a  pound. 
I  was  once  two  years  without  tasting  wheaten 
bread,  and  attribute  partly  to  this  the  gradual 
deterioration  of  health  which  I  suffered  on 
the  Upper  Amazons.  Mandioca  meal  is  a 
poor,  weak  substitute  for  bread ,;  it  is  defi- 
cient in  gluten,  and  consequently  cannot  be 
formed  into  a  leavened  mass  or  loaf,  but  is 
obliged  to  be  roasted  in  hard  grains  in  order 
to  keep  any  length  of  time.  Cakes  are  made 
of  the  half -roasted  meal,  but  Uiey  become 
sour  in  a  very  few  hours.  A  superior  kind 
of  meal  is  manufactured  ;at  -Ega  of  the  sweet 
mandioca  (Manihot  Aypi),;  it  is  generally 
made  with  a  mixture  <of  .the  starch  of  the 
root,  and  is  therefore  ,a  much  more  whole- 
some article  of  food  .than  the  ordinary  sort 
which,  on  the  Amazons,  is  made  of  the  pulp 
after  the  starch  has  .been  extracted  by  soak- 
ing in  water.  When  we  could  get  neither 
bread  nor  biscuit,  I  found  tapioca  soaked  in 
coffee  the  oest  native  ;substitu>te.  We  were 
seldom  without  butter,  as  every  canoe 
brought  one  or  two  casks  on  each  return 
voyage  from  Para,  where  it  is  imported  in 
considerable  quantity  from  Liverpool.  We 
obtained  tea  in  the  same  way,  it  being  served 
!as  a  fashionable  luxury  at  wedding  and 
christening  parties  ;  the  people  were  at  first 
strangers  to  this  article,  for  they  used  to  stew 
it  in  a  saucepan,  mixing  it  up  with  coarse 
raw  sugar,  and  stirring:  it  with  a  spoon. 
Sometimes  we  had  milk,  .but  this  was  only 
when  a  cow  calved  ;  the  yield  from  each  cort 
was  very  small,  and  lasted  only  for  a  few 
weeks  in  each  case,  although  the  pasture  is 
good,  and  the  animals  are  sleek  and  fat. 

Fruit  of  the  ordinary  tropical  sorts  could 
generally  be  had.  I  w.as  quite  .surprised  at 
the  variety  of  the  wild  kinds,  and  of  the  de- 
Hcious  flavor  of  some  of  them.  Many  of 
these  are  utterly  unknown  in  the  regions 
nearer  the  Atlantic,  being  the  peculiar  pro- 
ductions of  this  highly  favored,  and  little 
known,  interior  country.  Sume  have  been 
planted  by  the  natives  in  their  clearings. 
The  best  was  the  Jabuti-puhe,  or  tortoise- 
foot  ;  a  scaled  fruit  probably  of  the  Anona- 
ceous  order.  It  is  about  the  size  of  an  or- 
dinary  apple  ;  when  ripe,  the  rind  is  moder- 
ately thin,  and  incloses,  with  the  seeds,  a 
quantity  of  custardy  pulp  of  a  very  ricn 
flavor.  Next  to  this  stands  the  €uma  (Collo- 
phorasp.)  of  which  there  are  two  species, 
not  unlike,  in  appearance,  small  round  pears ; 
but  the  rind  is  rather  hard,  ,and  contains  a 
gummy  milk,  and  the  pulpy  part  is  almost 
as  delicious  as  that  of  the  Jiibuti-piibe  The 
Cuma  tree  is  of  moderate  heighx,  and 
grows  rather  plentifully  in  the  more  elevated 
and  drier  situations  A  third  kind  is  the 
Pama,  which  is  a  stone  fruit,  similar  in  color 
and  appearance  to  the  cherrj-,  buf  w£  oblot^ 


shape.     The  tree  is  one  of  the  loiciest  m  tne- 
forest,  and  has  never,  I  believe,  been  selected, 
for  cultivation.     To  get  at  the  fruit  the  Da- 
tives are  obliged  to  climb  to  the  height  of" 
ubout  a  hundred  fe«t,  and  cut  off  the  heavily 
iaden  branches.     I  have  already  mentioned 
the  Umari  and  the  Wishv  ;.  both  these   a, rii 
now    cultivated.       The    fatty,   bitter    pulp 
which  surrounds  the  Jarge  stony  seeds  of 
these  fruits  is  eaten  mixed  with  farinha,  and 
is  very  nourishing.     Another  cultivated  fruit  - 
is  the  Puruma  (Purunia  cecropiaefolia,  Mar- 
tius),  a  round  juicy  berry,  growing  in  large 
bunches    and    resembling  grapes    in   taste. 
Another    smaller    .kind,    called    Puruma-i, 
grows  wild  in  the  forest  close  to  Ega,  and 
has  not  yet  been  planted.     The  most  singu- 
lar of  all  these  fruits  is  the  Uikiy  which  is  of 
oblong  shape,  and  grows  apparently  cross- 
wise  on  the  end  of  its  stalk.     When  ripe,  >* 
the  thick  green  rind  opons  by  a  natural  cleft  | 
across  the  middle,  and  discloses. an  oval  seed', 
the  size  of  a  Damascene  plum,  but  of  u  vivid 
crimson  color.     This  bright  hue  belongs  to 
a   thin  coating  of  pulp,  which,  when  the 
seeds  are  mixed  in  a  plate  of  stewed  bananas, 
gives  to  the  mess  a  pleasant  rosy  tint,  and 
a  rich  creamy  taste  and  consistence.    Mingau 
(porridge)  of  bananas  flavored  and  colored 
with  Uiki  is  a  favorite  dish,  at  Ega.     The  * 
fruit,  like  most  of    the  others  here    men- 
tioned, ripens  in  January.      Many   smaller 
fruits,  such  as  VVajuru  (probably  a  species . 
of  Achras),  the  size  of  a  gooseberry,  which 
grows  singly  and  contains  a  sweet  gelatinous  - 
pulp,   inclosing    two     large    shining    black 
seeds  ;  Cashipari-arapaa,  an  oblong  scarlet 
berry  ;   two  kinds  of    Bacuci,   the  Bacuri- 
siuma  and   the    B.  curua,  sour  fruits  of  a . 
bright  lemon  color  when  ripe,,  and  a  great 
number  of  others,  are  of  less-  importance  as  . 
articles  of  food. 

The  celebrated  "Peach  palm,"  Pupunha 
of  the  Tupi  nations  (Guilielma  speciosa),  is  a  . 
common  tree  at  Ega.     The  name,  I  suppose, 
is  in  allusion  to  the  color. of  the  fruit,  and 
not  to  its  flavor,  for  it  is  dry  and  mealy,  and 
in  taste  may  be  compared  to  a  mixture  of 
chestnuts  and  cheese.     Vultures  devour  it 
eagerly,  and  come  in  quarrelsome  flocks  to 
the  trees  when  it  is  ripe.     Dogs  will  also  eat 
it  ;  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  cats  do  the  same, 
although  they  go  voluntarily  to  the  woods  to  > 
eat  Tucuma,  another  kind  of  palm    fruit,  l' 
The  tree,  as  it  grows  in  clusters  beside  the 
palm-thatched    huts,  is    a    noble  ornament,^ 
being,  when  full  grown,  from  fifty  to  sixty 
feet  in  height    and  often  as  straight,  as  a 
scaffold-pole.     A  bunch,  of  fruit  when  ripe 
is  a  load  for  a  strong  man,  and  each  tree  - 
bears  several  of  them.     The  Pupunha  grows 
wild  nowhere  on  the  Amazons.     It  is  one  of 
those  few   vegetable  productions  (including 
three  kinds  of  mandioca  and  the  American 
species  of  banana)  which  the  Indians  have- 
cullivated     from     time     immemorial,     and 
brought  with  them  in  their  original  migration  , 
to  Brazil.     It  is  only,  however,  the  mote  a'J- 
*r«inced  tribes  who  have  kept  up  the  cultiva  . 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


729 


tinn.  The  superiority  of  the  fruit  on  the 
Solimoens  to  that  grown  on  the  Lower  Ama- 
"Z'ms,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Para,  is 
very  striking.  At  Ega  it  is  generally  as  large 
;as  full-sized  peach,  and  when  boiled  almost 
.as  mealy  as  a  potato  ;  while  at  Para  it  is  no 
bigger  than  a  walnut,  and  the  pulp  is  fibrous. 
Bunches  of  sterile  or  seedless  fruits  some- 
times occur  in  both  districts.  It  is  one  of 
the  principal  articles  of  food  at  Ega  when  in 
season,  and  is  boiled  and  eaten  with  treacle 
or  salt.  A  dozen  of  the  seedless  fruits  make 
a  good  nourishing  meal  for  a  grown-up  per- 
son. It  is  the  general  belief  that  there  is 
more  nutriment  in  Pupunha  than  in  fish  or 
Vacca  marina. 

The  seasons  in  the  Upper  Amazons  region 
offer  some  points  of  difference  from  those  of 
the  lower  river  and  the  district  of  Para,  which 
two  sections  of  the  country  we  have  already 
seen  also  differ  considerably.  The  year  at 
Ega  is  divided  according  to  the  rises  and  falls 
of  the  river,  with  which  coincide  the  wet  and 
dry  periods.  All  the  principal  transactions 
of  life  of  the  inhabitants  are  regulated  by 
1  hese  yearly  recurring  phenomena.  The  pe- 
culiarity of  Jhis  upper  region  consists  in 
there  being  two  rises  and  two  falls  within  the 
year.  The  great  annual  rise  commences 
-about  the  end  of  February,  and  continues  to 
the  middle  of  June,  during  which  the  river* 
and  lakes,  confined  during  the  dry  periods  to 
I  heir  ordinary  beds,  gradually  swell,  and 
overflow  all  the  lower  lands.  The  inunda- 
tion progresses  gently,  inch  by  inch,  and  is 
felt  everywhere,  even  in  the  interior  of  the 
forests,  of  the  higher  lands,  miles  away  from 
the  river  ;  as  these  are  traversed  by  numer- 
ous gullies,  forming,  in  the  fine  season,  dry 
spacious  dells,  which  become  gradually 
transformed  by  the  pressure  of  the  flood  into 
broad  creeks,  navigable  by  small  boats,  un- 
der the  shade  of  trees.  All  the  countless 
swarms  of  turtle  of  various  species  then  leave 
the  main  river  for  the  inland  pools  ;  sand- 
banks go  underwater,  and  the  flocks  of  wad- 
ing birds  then  migrate  northerly  to  the  upper 
waters  of  the  tributaries  which  flow  from 
that  direction,  or  to  the  Orinoco  ;  which 
streams  during  the  wet  period  of  the  Ama- 
zons are  enjoying  the  cloudless  skies  of  their 
dry  season.  The  families  of  fishermen  who 
have  been  employed,  during  the  previous  four 
or  five  months,  in  harpooning  and  salting 
pirarucu  and  shooting  turtle  m  the  great 
lakes,  now  return  to  the  towns  and  villages, 
heir  temporarily  constructed  fishing  cstab- 
ishments  becoming  gradually  submerged, 
with  the  sand  islets  or  beaches  on  which 
hey  were  situated.  This  is  the  season,  how- 
ver,  iii  which  the  Brazil-nut  and  wild  cacao 
ipen,  and  many  persons  go  out  to  gather 
hese  harvests,  remaining  absent  generally 
hroughout  the  months  of  March  and  April. 
The  rains  during  this  time  are  not  contmu- 
)us  ;  they  fall  very  heavily  at  times,  but 
arely  last  so  long  at  a  stretch  as  twenty-four 
hours,  and  many  days  intervene  of  pleasant, 
unny  weather.  The  sky,  however,  is  geu- 
rally  overcast  and  gloomy,  and  sometimes  a  - 


drizzling  rain  falls. 

About  the  fiistweek  in  June  the  flood  is  at 
its  highest,  the  water  being  then  about 
forty-five  feet  above  its  lowest  point  ;  but  it 
vuries  in  different  years  to  the  extent  of  about 
fifteen  feet.  The  "  euchente,"  or  flow,  as  it 
is  called  by  the  natives,  who  telieve  this 
great  annual  movement  of  the  waters  to  be 
of  the  same  nature  as  the  tide  toward  the 
mouth  of  the  Amazons,  is  then  completed, 
and  all  begin  to  look  forward  to  the 
' '  vasante, ' '  or  ebb.  The  provision  made  for 
the  dearth  of  the  wet  season  is  by  this  time 
pretty  nearly  exhausted  ;  fish  is  difficult  to 
procure,  and  many  of  the  less  provident  in- 
habitants have  become  reduced  to  a  diet  of 
fruits  and  farinha  porridge. 

The  fine  season  begins  with  a  few  days  of 
brilliant  weather — furious  hot  sun,  with  pass- 
ing clouds.  Idle  men  and  women,  tired  of 
the  dulness  and  confinement  of  the  flood  sea- 
son, begin  to  report  on  returning  from  their 
morning  bath,  the  oessation  of  the  flow  :  as 
agoas  estad  paradas,  "  the  waters  ba^e 
stopped."  The  muddy  streets,  in  a  few 
days,  dry  up  ;  groups  of  young  fellows  are 
now  seen  seated  on  the  shadj  sides  of  the 
cottages,  making  arrows  and  knitting  fish- 
ing-nets, with  tucum  twine  ;  others  are  busy 
patching  up  and  calking  their  canoes,  large 
and  small :  in  fact,  preparations  are  made  on 
all  sides  for  the  much  longed-for  "  verao"'  or 
summer,  and  the  "  migration,  "as  it  is  called, 
of  fish  and  turtle  ;  that  is,  their  descent  from 
the  inaccessible  pools  in  the  forest  to  the 
main  river.  Toward  the  middle  of  July  the 
sand-banks  begin  to  reappear  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  waters,  and  with  this  change 
come  floc'ks  of  sandpipers  and  gulls,  which 
latter  make  known  the  advent  of  the  fine  sea- 
son, as  the  cuckoo  does  of  the  European 
spring,  uttering  almost  incessantly  their 
plaintive  cries  as  they  fly  about  over  the 
shallow  waters  of  sandy  shores.  Most  of 
the  gayly-plumaged  birds  have  now  finished 
moulting,  and  begin  to  be  more  active  ;n  the 
forest. 

The  fall  continues  to  the  middle  of  \jc  o- 
ber,  with  the  intei  ruption  of  a  partial  ris^  call- 
ed "  repiquet,"  of  a  few  inches  in  the  midst 
of  very  dry  weather  in  September,  caused  by 
the  swollen  contribution  01  some  large  afflu 
ent  higher  up  the  river.  The  amount  of  sub- 
sidence also  vaiies  considerably,  but  it  is 
never  HO  great  as  to  interrupt  navigation  by 
large  vessels.  The  greater  it  is  the  more 
abundant  is  the  season.  Every  one  is  pros, 
perous  -when  the  waters  are  low,  the  shallow 
bays  and  pools  being  then  crowded  with  the 
concentrated  population  of  fish  and  turtle. 
All  the  peopV,  men,  women,  and  children, 
leavo  the  villages,  and  spend  the  few  weeks 
of  glorious  weather  rambling  over  the  vast 
undulating  expanses  of  sand  in  the  middle  of 
the  Solimoens,  fishing,  hunting,  collecting 
eggs  of  turtle  and  pi oveis,  and  thoroughly 
enjoying  themselves.  The  inhabitants  pray 
always  for  a  "  vasante  grande,"  or  great  «bb. 

From  the  middle  of  October  to  the  begin* 
ning  of  January  the  second  wet  season  gore* 


780 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZDm. 


vails.  The  rise  is  sometimes  not  more  than 
about  fifteen  feet,  but  it  is,  iu  some  years, 
much  more  extensive,  laying  the  large  sand 
islands  under  water  before  the  turtle-eggs 
are  hatched.  In  one  year,  while  I  resided  at 
Ega,  this  second  annual  inundation  reached 
to  within  ten  feet  of  the  highest  water  point, 
as  marked  by  the  stains  on  the  trunks  of 
trees  by  the  river  side. 

The  second  dry  season  comes  on  in  Janu- 
ary, and  lasts  throughout  February.  The 
river  sinks  sometimes  to  the  extent  of  a  few 
feet  only,  but  one  year  (1856)  I  saw  it  ebb  to 
within  about  five  feet  of  its  lowest  point  in 
September.  This  is  called  the  summer  of 
the  Umari,  "  Vera5  do  Umari,"  after  the 
fruit  of  this  name  already  described,  which 
ripens  at  this  season.  When  the  fall  is  great, 
this  is  the  best  time  to  catch  turtles.  In  the 
year  above  mentioned,  nearly  all  the  residents 
who  had  a  canoe,  and  could  work  a  paddle, 
went  out  after  them  in  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, and  about  2000  were  caught  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days.  It  appears  that  they 
had  been  arrested,  in  their  migration  toward 
the  interior  pools  of  the  forest,  by  the  sudden 
drying  up  of  the  water-courses,  and  so  had 
become  easy  prey. 

Thus  the  Ega  year  is  divided  into  four  sea- 
sons, two  of  dry  weather  and  falling  waters, 
and  two  of  the  reverse.  Besides  this  variety, 
there  is,  in  the  month  of  May,  a  short  season 
of  very  cold  weather,  a  most  surprising  cir- 
cumstance in  this  otherwise  uniformly  swel- 
tering climate.  This  is  caused  by  the  con- 
tinuance of  a  cold  wind,  which  blows  from 
the  south  over  the  humid  forests  that  extend, 
without  interruption,  from  north  of  the 
equator  to  the  eighteenth  parallel  of  latitude 
in  Bolivia.  I  had,  unfortunately,  no  ther- 
mometer with  me  at  Ega,  the  on!y  one  I 
brought  with  me  from  England  having  been 
lost  at  Para.  The  temperature  is  so  much 
lowered  that  fishes  die  in  the  river  Teffe,  and 
are  cast  in  considerable  quantities  on  its 
shores.  The  wind  is  not  strong ;  but  it 
brings  cloudy  weather,  and  lasts  from  three 
to  five  or  six  days  iu  each  year.  The  inhab- 
itants all  suffer  much  from  the  cold,  many 
of  them  wrapping  themselves  up  with  the 
warmest  clothing  they  can  get  (blankets  are 
here  unknown),  and  shutting  themselves  in- 
doors with  a  charcoal  fire  lighted.  I  found, 
myself,  the  change  of  temperature  most  de- 
lightful, and  did  not  require  extra  clothing. 
It  was  a  bad  time,  however,  for  my  pursuit, 
as  birds  and  insects  all  betook  themselves  to 
places  of  concealment,  and  remained  in- 
active. The  period  during  which  this  wind 
prevails  is  called  the  "tempo  da  friagem," 
or  the  season  of  coldness.  The  phenomena, 
I  presume,  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  in  May  it  is  winter  in  the  southern  tem- 
perate zone,  and  that  the  cool  currents  of  air 
travelling  thence  northward  to  ward  the  equa- 
tor, become  only  moderately  heated  iu  their 
course,  owing  to  the  intermediate  country 
being  a  vast  partially-flooded  plain  covered 
with  humid  forests. 


CHAPTER  XE. 

EXCURSIONS  IN  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  EGA1 

The  River  Tcffe — Rambles  through*  proves  on  the- 
beach— Excursion  to  the  house  of  a^Pa^se  chieftains 
—Character  and  customs  of  the  Pa*se  tribe— First: 
excursion  to  the  sand  inlands  06"  th«  Solimoens-— 
Habits  of  great  river-turtle — Second  excursion  — 
Turtle-fishing  in  the  island  pools— Tnird  excursion. 
—Hunting  rambles  with,  natives?-  in»  the  forest— Re- 
turn to  Ega. 

I  WILL  now  proceed  to  give  some  account/, 
of  the  more  interesting,  of  imy  shorter  excur 
sions  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ega.     The  in- 
cidents of  the  longer  voyages}.  which  occu- 
pied each  several  mouths,  will  be  narrated  in 
a  separate  chapter. 

The  settlement,  as  before-described,  is  built 
on  a  small  tract  of  cleared  land  at  me  lower* 
or  eastern  end  of  the  lake,  six, or  seven  miles- 
from  the  main.  Amazons,  with- which  the  lake 
communicates  by  a  narrow  channel.  On  the' 
opposite  shore  of  tb«  broad  expanse  stands  a- 
small  village,  called  N«ogueira,  the  houses  of* 
which  are  not  visible  frorrn  Ega»  except  on 
very  clear  days  ;  the  coast  on>  the  Nogueira 
side  is  high,  and  stretches  away  into  the  gray- 
distance  toward  the  south-west.  The  upper 

rt  of  the  river  TeffiS  is  not  visited  by  the* 
people,  o-u  account  of  its  extreme  un- 
healthiness,  and,  its  barrenness  iu  salsaparilla^  . 
and  other  wares.     To  Europeans  it  would 
seem  a  most  surprising  thing  that  the  peo- 
ple of  a  civilized  settlement,  170  years  old, 
should  still  be  ignorant  of  the  course  of  the- 
river  on  whose  banks  their  native  place,  for 
which  they  proudly  claim*  the  title  of  city,  is 
situated.     It  would  be  very  difficult  for  a 
private  individual  to  explore  it,  as  the  neces- 
sary number  of  Indian*  paddHere  could  not  bi> 
obtained.     I  knew  only  one  person  who  had 
ascended  the  Teffe  to  any  considerable  dis- 
tance, and  he  was  not  able  to  give  me  a  dis- 
tinct account  of  the  river.     The  only  tribe- 
known  to  live  on  its  banks  are  the  Catauisnis,        • 
a  people  who  perforate  their  lips  all  round,, 
and  wear  rows  of  slender  sticks  in  the  holes  : 
their  territory  lies  bet  ween  the  Pur  us  and  tlxr 
Jurua,  embracing  both  shores  of  the  Teffe. 
A  large  navigable  stream-,  the  Bararua,  enters- 
the  lake  from  the  west,  about  thirty  miles 
above  Ega  ;  the  breadth  of  the  lake  is  much 
contracted  a  little   below  the  mouth  of  this, 
tributary,  but  it  again  expands  further  south, 
and  terminates  abruptly    where    the  Teffe* 
proper,  a  narrow  river  with  a-  strong  current, 
forms  its  head  water. 

The  whole  of  the  country  for  hundreds  of 
milesis  covered  with  picturesque  but  pathles?: 
forests,  and  there  are  only  two  roads  alons^ 
which  excursions  can  be  made  by  land  from. 
Ega.     One  is  a  narrow  hunter'**  track,  about 
two  miles  in  length,  which  traverses  the  for- 
est :n  the  rear  of  the  settlement.     The  other- 
is  an  extremely  pleasant  path  along  the  beach, 
to  the  west  of  the  town.     This  is  practicable1 
only  in  the  dry  season,  when  a  flat  stiip  of 
white  sandy  beach  is  exposed  at  the  foot  of 
the  high  wooded  banks  of  the  lake,  covered 
with  trees,  which,  as  there  is  no  underwood-. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


731 


tuna  a  spacious  shady  grove.  1  rambled 
daily,  during  many  weeks  of  each  successive 
dry  season,  along  this  delightful  road.  The 
trees,  m£ny  of  which  are  myrtles  and  wild 
guavas,  with  smooth  yellow  stems,  were  in 
flower  at  this  time  ;  and  the  rippling  waters 
of  tne  lake,  under  the  cool  shade,  everywhere 
bordered  the  path.  The  place  was  the  resort 
of  kingfishers,  green  and  blue  tree-creepers, 
purple-headed  tanagers,  and  humming-birds. 
Birds  generally,  however,  were  not  numer- 
ous. Every  tree  was  tenanted  by  Cicadas, 
the  reedy  notes  of  which  produced  that  loud 
jarring  insect  music  which  is  the  general  ac- 
companiment of  a  woodland  ramble  in  a  hot 
climate.  One  species  was  very  handsome, 
having  wings  adorned  with  patches  of  bright 
green  and  scarlet.  It  was  very  common, 
sometimes  three  or  four  tenanting  a  single 
tree,  clinging  as  usual  to  the  branches.  On 
approaching  a  tree  thus  peopled,  a  number 
of  little  jets  of  a  clear  liquid  would  be  seen 
squirted  from  aloft.  I  have  often  received 
the  well-directed  discharge  full  on  my  face  ; 
but  the  liquid  isliarmless,  having  a  sweetish 
taste,  and  is  ejected  by  the  insect  from  the 
anus,  probably  in  self-defence,  or  from  fear. 
The  number  and  variety  of  gayly  tinted  but- 
terflies, sporting  about  in  this  grove  on  sunny 
days,  were  so  great  that  the  bright  moving 
flakes  of  color  gave  quite  a  character  to  the 
physiognomy  of  the  place.  It  was  impossi- 
ble to  walk  far  without  disturbing  flocks  of 
them  from  the  damp  sand  at  the  edge  of  the 
water,  where  they  congregated  to  imbibe  the 
moisture.  They  were  of  almost  all  colors, 
sizes,  and  shapes  :  1  noticed  here  altogether 
eighty  species,  belonging  to  twenty -two  dif- 
ferent genera.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  alt  the  individuals 
of  these  various  species  thus  sporting  in 
sunny  places  were  of  the  male  sex ;  their 
partners,  which  are  much  more  soberly 
dressed  and  immensely  less  numerous  than 
the  males,  being  confined  to  the  shades  of  the 
woods.  Every  afternoon,  as  the  sun  was 
getting  low,  I  used  to  notice  these  gaudy  sun- 
shine-loving swains  trooping  off  to  the  for- 
est, where  I  suppose  they  would  find  their 
sweethearts  and  wives.  The  most  abundant, 
next  to  the  very  common  sulphur-yellow  and 
orange-colored  kinds,  were  about  a  dozen 
species  of  Eunica,  which  are  of  large  size, 
and  are  conspicuous  from  their  liveries  of 
glossy  dark  blue/and  purple.  A  superbly- 
adorned  creature,  the  Callithea  Markii,  hav- 
ing wings  of  a  thick  texture,  colored 
sapphire- blue  and  orange,  was  only  an  occa- 
sional visitor.  On  certain  days,  when  tlit 
weather  was  very  calm,  two  small  gilded 

green  species  (Symmachia  Trochilus  and 
olubris)  literally  swarmed  on  the  sands, 
their  glittering  wings  lying  wide  open  on  the 
flat  surface.  The  beach  terminates,  eight 
miles  beyond  Ega,  at  the  mouth  of  a  rivulet ; 
the  character  of  the  coast  then  changes,  the 
river  banks  being  masked  by  a  line  of  low 
islets  amid  a  labyrinth  of  channels. 

In  all  other  directions  my  very  numerous 
excursions  were  by  water  ;  the  most  interest- 


ing of  those  made  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood  were  to  the  houses  of  Indians  on  the 
banks  of  retired  creeks  ;  an  account  of  one 
of  these  trips  will  suffice. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1850, 1  visited,  in  com- 
pany with  Antonio  Cardozo,  the  Delegado,  a 
family  ot  the  Passe  tribe,  who  live  near  thcj 
head  waters  of  the  Igarape,  which  flow* 
from  the  south  into  the  Teffe,  entering  it  at 
Ega.  The  creek  is  more  than  a  quaiter  ( t 
a  mile  broad  near  the  town,  but  a  few  mill  * 
inland  it  gradually  contracts,  until  it  become  * 
a  mere  rivulet  flowing  through  a  broad  dell 
in  the  forest.  When  the  river  rises,  it  fills, 
this  dell ;  the  trunks  of  the  lofty  trees  then 
stand  many  feet  deep  in  the  water,  and  small 
canoes  are  able  to  travel  the  distance  of  a 
day's  journey  under  the  shade,  regular  path3 
or  alleys  being  cut  through  the  branches  anl 
lower  trees.  This  is  the  general  character  of 
the  country  of  the  Upper  Amazons  ;  a  land 
of  small  elevation  and  abruptly  undulated, 
the  hollows  forming  narrow  valleys  in  the 
dry  months,  and  deep  navigable  creeks  in  the 
"Wet  months.  In  retired  nooks  on  the  mar- 
gins of  these  shady  rivulets,  a  few  families 
or  small  hordes  of  aborigines  still  linger  in 
nearly  their  primitive  state,  the  relics  of  their 
once  numerous  tribes.  The  family  we  in- 
tended to  visit  on  this  trip  was  that  of  Pedro- 
uassu  (Peter  the  Great,  or  tafll  Peter),  an  old 
chieftain  or  Tushaua  of  the  Passes. 

We  set  out  at  sunrise,  in  a  small  igarite, 
manned  by  six  young  Indian  paddlers.  After 
travelling  about  three  miles  along  the  broad 
portion  of  the  creek— which,  being  surround- 
ed by  woods,  had  the  appearance  of  a  large 
pool — we  came  to  a  part  where  our  course 
seemed  to  b.e  stopped  by  an  impenetrable 
hedge  of  trees  and  bushes.  We  were  some 
time  before  finding  the  entrance,  but  when 
fairly  within  the  shades,  a  remarkable  scene 
presented  itself.  It  was  my  first  introduc- 
tion to  these  singular  water-paths.  A  nar- 
row and  tolerably  straight  alley  stretched 
away  for  a  long  distance  before  us  :  on  each 
side  were  the  tops  of  bushes  and  young  trees, 
forming  a  kind  of  border  to  the  path,  and  the 
trunks  of  the  tall  forest  trees  rose  at  irregular 
intervals  from  the  water,  their  crowns  intei- 
Jocking  far  over  our  heads,  and  forming  a 
thick  shade.  Slender  air  roots  hung  down 
in  clusters,  and  looping  sip6s  dangled  from 
the  lower  branches  ;  bunches  of  grass,  tilland- 
sis6,  and  ferns,  sat  in  the  forks  of  the  larger 
boughs,  and  the  trunks  of  trees  near  the  water 
had  adhering  to  them  round  dried  masses  of 
fresh- water  .sponges.  There  was  no  current 
perceptible,  and  the  water  was  stained  of  a 
dark  olive-brown  hue,  but  the  submerged 
stems  could  be  seen  throush  it  to  a  great 
depth.  We  travelled  at  good  speed  for  three 
hours  along  this  shady  road,  the  distance  of 
Pedro's  house  from  Egra  being  about  twenty 
miles.  When  the  paddlers  rested  for  a  time, 
the  stillness  and  gloom  of  the  place  became 
almost  painful :  our  voices  waked  dull  echoes 
ns  we  conversed,  and  the  noise  made  by 
fishes  occasionally  whipping  the  surface  of 
l!.e  water  was  Quite  startling.  A  cool,  moist, 


732 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


air  pervaded  the  sunless  shade, 
readth  of  the  wooded  valley,  at  the 


clamm 

The 

commencement,  is  probably  more  than  half 
a  mile,  and  there  is  a  tolerably  clear  view  for 
a  considerable  distance  on  each  side  of  the 
water-path  through  the  irregular  colonnade 
of  trees  :  other  paths  a-2?o,  in  this  part,  branch 
off  right  and  left  from  the  principal  road, 
leading  to  the  scattered  houses  of  Indians  on 
the  mainland.  The  dell  contracts  gradually 
toward  the  head  of  the  rivulet,  and  the  forest 
then  becomes  denser  ;  the  water-path  also 
diminishes  in  width,  and  becomes  more 
winding  on  account  of  the  closer  growth  of 
the  trees.  The  boughs  of  some  are  stretched 
forth  at  no  great  height  over  one's  head,  and 
are  seen  to  be  loaded  with  epiphytes  ;  one 
iprchid  I  noticed  particularly,  on  account  of 
its  bright  yellow  flowers  growing  at  the  end 
of  flower-stems  several  feet  long.  Some  of 
the  trunks,  especially  those  of  palms,  close 
beneath  their  crowns,  were  clothed  with  a 
thick  mass  of  glossy  shield-shaped  Pothos 
plants,  mingled  with  ferns.  Arrived  at  this 
part,  we  were,  in  fact,  in  the  heart  of  the 
virgin  forest.  We  heard  no  noises  of  ani- 
mals in  the  trees,  and  saw  only  one  bird,  the 
sky-blue  chatterer,  sitting  alone  on  a  high 
branch.  For  some  distance  the  lower  vege- 
tation was  so  dense  that  the  road  runs  under 
an  arcade  of  foliage,  the  branches  having 
been  cut  away  only  sufficiently  to  admit  of 
the  passage  of  a  small  canoe.  These  thickets 
are  formed  chiefly  of  bamboos,  whose  slen- 
der foliage  and  curving  stems  arrange  them- 
selves in  elegant  feathery  bowers  ;  but  other 
social  plants,  slender  green  climbers  with 
tendrils  so  eager  in  aspiring  to  grasp  the 
higher  boughs  that  they  seem  to  be  endowed 
almost  with  animal  energy,  and  certain  low 
trees  having  large  elegantly- veined  leaves, 
contribute  also  to  the  jungly  masses.  Occa- 
sionally we  came  upon  an  uprooted  tree  lying 
across  the  path,  its  voluminous  crown  still 
held  by  thick  cables  of  sipo,  connecting  it 
with  standing  trees  :  a  wide  circuit  had  to  be 
made  in  these  cases,  and  it  was  sometimes 
difficult  to  find  the  right  path  again. 

At  length  we  arrived  at  our  journey's  end. 
"We  were  then  in  a  very  dense  and  gloomy 
part  of  the  forest :  we  could  see,  however, 
the  dry  land  on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and 
to  our  right  a  small  Runny  opening  appeared, 
the  landing-place  to  the  native  dwellings. 
The  water  was  deep  close  to  the  bank,  and  a 
clean  pathway  ascended  from  the  shady  port 
to  the  buildings,  which  were  about  a  furlong 
distant.  My  friend  Cardozo  v  as  godfather 
to  a  grandchild  of  Pedro-uassu,  whose 
daughter  had  married  an  Indian  settled  in 
Ega.  He  had  sent  word  to  the  old  man  that 
he  intended  t»  risit  him  :  we  were  therefore 
expected. 

As  we  landed,  Pedro-uasau  himself  came 
down  to  the  port  to  receive  us,  our  arrival 
Laving  been  announced  by  the  barking  of 
dogs.  He  was  a  tall  and  thin  old  in  in,  with 
a  serious  but  benignant  expression  of  coun- 
tenance, and  a  manner  much  freer  from  shy- 
ness aud  distrust  than  is  usual  with  Indians. 


He  was  clad  in  a  shirt  of  coarse  cotton  cloth, 
dyed  with  murishi,  and  trousers  of  the  same 
material  turned  up  to  the  knee.  His  features 
were  sharply  delineated— more  so  than  in 
any  Indian  face  I  had  yet  seen  ;  the  lips  thin 
and  the  nose  rather  high  and  compressed.  A 
large,  square,  blue-black  tattooed  patch  occu- 
pied the  middle  of  his  face,  which,  as  well 
as  the  other  exposed  parts  of  his  body,  was 
of  a  light  reddish-tan  color,  instead  of  the 
usual  coppery-brown  hue.  He  walked  with 
an  upright,  slow  gait,  and  on  reaching  us 
saluted  Cardozo  with  the  air  of  a  man  who 
wished  it  to  be  understood  that  he  was  deal- 
ing with  an  equal.  My  friend  introduced  me, 
and  I  was  welcomed  in  the  same  grave,  cere- 
monious manner.  He  seemed  to  have  many 
questions  to  ask  ;  but  they  were  chiefly  about 
Senhora  Felippa,  Cardozo's  Indian  house- 
keeper at  Ega,  and  were  purely  compliment- 
ary. This  studied  politeness  is  quite  natural 
to  Indians  of  the  advanced  agricultural 
tribes.  The  language  used  was  Tupi :  I 
heard  no  other  spoken  all  the  day.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  Pedro-uassu  had  never 
had  much  intercourse  with  whiles  :  he  was, 
although  baptized,  a,  primitive  Indian,  who 
had  always  lived  in  retirement,  the  cere- 
mony of  baptism  having  been  gone  through, 
as  it  generally  is  by  the  aborigines,  simply 
from  a  wish  to  stand  well  with  the  whites. 

Arrived  at  the  house,  we  were  welcomed  by 
Pedro's  wife,  a  thin,  wrinkled,  active  old 
squaw,  tattooed  in  precisely  the  same  way  as 
her  husband.  She  had  ulso  sharp  features, 
but  her  manner  was  more  cordial  and  quicker 
than  that  of  her  husband  ;  she  talked  much 
arid  with  great  inflection  of  voice,  while  the 
tones  of  the  old  man  were  rather  drawling 
and  querulous.  Her  clothing  was  a  long 
petticoat  of  thick  cotton  cloth,  and  a  very 
short  chemise,  not  reaching  to  her  waist.  I 
was  rather  surprised  to  find  the  grounds 
around  the  establishment  in  neater  order  than 
in  any  sitio,  even  of  civilized  people,  I  had 
yet  seen  on  the  Upper  Amazons  :  the  stock 
of  utensils  and  household  goods  of  all  sorts 
was  larger,  and  the  evidences  of  regular  in- 
dustry and  plenty  more  numerous  than  one 
usually  perceives  in  the  farms  of  civilized 
Indians  and  whites.  The  buildings  were  of 
the  same  construction  as  th«§se  of  the  hum- 
bler settlers  in  all  other  parts  of  the  country. 
The  family  lived  in  a  large,  oblong,  open 
shed  built  under  the  shade  of  trees.  Two 
smaller  buildings,  detached  from  the  shed 
and  having  mud  walls  with  low  doorways, 
contained  apparently  the  sleeping  apartments 
of  different  members  of  the  large  household. 
A  small  mill  for  grinding  sugar-cane,  having 
two  cylinders  of  hard  notched  wood  ;  wooden 
troughs,  and  kettles  for  boiling  the  guardpa 
(cane  juice),  to  make  treacle,  stood  under  a 
separate  shed,  and  near  it  was  a  large  in- 
closed mud-house  for  poultry.  There  was 
another  hut  and  shed  a  short  distance  off,  in- 
habited by  a  family  dependent  on  Pedro,  and 
a  narrow  pathway  through  the  luxuriant 
woiids  led  'to  more  dwellings  of  the  same* 
kind.  There  was  an  abundance  of  f  i  u  it-trees 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


733 


around  the  place,  including  the  never-failing 
banana,  with  its  long,  broad,  soft  green  leaf- 
blades,  and  groups  of  full-grown  Pupunhas, 
or  peach  palms.  There  was  also  a  large 
number  of  cotton  and  coffee  trees.  Among 
the  utensils  I  noticed  baskets  of  different 
shapes,  made  of  flattened  maranta  stalks, 
And  dyed  various  colors.  The  making  of 
these  is  an  original  art  of  the  Passes,  but  I 
believe  it  is  also  practised  by  other  tribes, 
for  1  saw  several  in  the  houses  of  semi-civil- 
ized Indians  on  the  Tapajos. 

There  were  only  three  persons  in  the 
house  besides  the  old  couple,  the  rest  of  the 
people  being  absent ;  several  came  in,  how- 
ever, in  the  course  of  the  day.  One  was  a 
daughter  of  Pedro's,  who  had  an  oval  tat- 
tooed spot  over  her  mouth  ;  the  second  was 
a  young  grandson,  and  the  third  the  son-in- 
law  frorn  Ega,  Cardozo's  compadre.  The  old 
woman  was  occupied,  when  we  entered,  in. 
distilling  spirits  from  cara,  an  eatable  root 
similar  to  the  potato,  by  means  of  a  clay 
still,  which  had  been  manufactured  by  her- 
self. The  liquor  had  a  reddish  tint,  but  not 
a  very  agreeable  flavor.  A  cup  of  it,  warm 
from  the  still,  however,  was  welcome  after 
our  long  journey.  Cardozo  liked  it,  emptied 
his  cup,  and  replenished  it  in  a  vary  short 
time.  The  old  lady  was  very  talkative,  and 
almost  fussy  in  her  desire  to  please  her  vis- 
itors. We  sat  in  tucurn  hammocks,  sus- 
pended between  the  upright  posts  of  the 
shed.  The  young  woman  with  the  blue 
mouth — who,  although  married,  was  as  shy 
as  any  young  maiden  of  her  race — soon  be- 
came employed  in  scalding  and  plucking 
fowls  for  the  dinner,  near  the  fire  on  the 
ground  at  the  other  end  of  the  dwelling. 
The  son-in-law,  Pedro-uassu,  and  Cardozo 
now  began  a  long  conversation  on  the  sub- 
ject of  their  deceased  wife,  daughter,  and 
comadre.*  It  appeared  she  had  died  of  con- 
sumption— "  tisica,"  as  they  called  it,  a  word 
adopted  by  the  Indians  from  the  Portuguese. 
The  widower  repeated  over  and  over  again, 
in  nearly  the  same  words,  his  account  of  her 
iMness,  Pedro  chiming  in  like  a  chorus,  and 
Cardozo  moralizing  and  condoling.  I  thought 
the  cauim  (grog)  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with 
t-he  flow  of  talk  and  warmth  of  feeling  of  all 
three  :  the  widower  drank  and  wailed  until 
he  became  maundering,  and  finally  fell 
asleep. 

I  left  them  talking,  and  went  a  long  ram- 
ble into  the  forest,  Pedro  sending  his  grand- 
feon.  a  smiling,  well-behaved  lad  of  about 
fourteen  .years  of  ago,  to  «how  me  the  paths, 
rny  companion  taking  with  him  his  Zaraba- 
lana,  or  blow-gun.  This  instrument  is  used 
by  all  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  Upper  Ama- 
zons. It  is  generally  nine  or  ten  feet  long, 
and  is  made  of  two  separate  lengths  of 
wood,  each  scooped  out  so  as  tA  form  one 
half  of  the  tube.  To  do  this  with  the  neces- 
sary accuracy  requires  an  enormous  amount 
of  patient  labor,  and  considerable  mechanical 

*  Co-mother  ;  the  term  expressing  the  relationship 
of  a  mother  to  the  godfather  of  her  child. 


ability,  the  tools  used  being  simply  the  in- 
csior  teeth  of  the  Paca  and  Cutia.  The  two 
half  tubes  when  finished  are  secured  together 
by  a  very  close  and  tight  spirally- wound 
strapping,  consisting  of  long  flat  strips  of  J  uc- 
itara,  or  the  wood  of  the  climbing  palm -tree  ; 
and  the  whole  is  smeared  afterward  with 
blacK  wax,  the  production  of  a  Melipona  bee. 
The  pipe  tapers  toward  the  muzzle,  and  a 
cup-shaped  mouth-piece  made  of  wood,  is 
fitted  in  the  broad  end.  A  full  sized  £iro- 
batana  is  heavy,  and  can  only  be  used  by  an 
adult  Indian  who  has  had  great  practice. 
The  young  lads  learn  to  shoot  with  smaller 
and  lighter  tubes.  When  Mr.  Wallace  and 
I  had  lessons  at  Barra  in  the  use  of  the  bl  jw- 
gun,  of  Julio,  a  Juri  Indian,  then  in  the  cm- 
ploy  of  Mr.  Hauxwell,  an  English  bird-col- 
lector, we  found  it  very  difficult  to  hold 
steadily  the  long  tubes.  The  arrows  are 
made  from  the  hard  rind  of  the  leaf-stalks 
of  certain  palms,  thin  strips  being  cut,  and 
rendered  as  sharp  as  needles  by  scraping  the 
ends  with  a  knife  or  the  tooth  of  aa  animal. 
They  are  winged  with  a  little  oval  mass  of 
samauma  silk  (from  the  seed-vessels  of  the 
silk-cotton  tree,  Eriodendron  samauma),  cot- 
ton being  too  heavy.  The  ball  of  samauma 
should  fit  to  a  nicety  the  bore  of  the  blow- 
gun  ;  when  it  does  so,  the  arrow  can  be  pro- 
pelled with  such  force  by  the  breath  that  it 
makes  a  noise,  almost  as  loud  as  a  pop-gun, 
on  flying  from  the  muzzle.  My  little  com- 
panion was  armed  with  a  quiver  full  of  these 
little  missiles,  a  small  number  of  which,  suffi- 
cient for  the  clay's  sport,  were  tipped  with 
the  fatal  Urari  poison.  The  quiver  was  an 
ornamental  affair,  the  broad  rim  being  made 
of  highly  polished  wood  of  a  rich  cherry-red 
color  (the  Moira-piranga,  or  red-wood  of  the 
Japura).  The  body  was  formed  of  neatly 
plaited  strips  of  Maranta  stalks,  and  the  belt 
by  which  it  was  suspended  from  the  shoulder 
was  decorated  with  cotton  fringes  and  tassels. 
We  walked  about  two  miles  along  a  well- 
trodden  pathway,  through  high  caapoeira 
(second-growth  forest).  A  large  proportion 
of  the  trees  were  Melastomas,  which  bore  a 
hairy  yellow  fruit,  nearly  as  large  and  «s 
well  flavored  as  our  gooseberry.  The  season, 
however,  was  nearly  over  for  them.  The 
road  was  bordered  every  inch  of  the  way  by 
a  thick  bed  of  elegant  Lycopodiums.  Au 
artificial  arrangement  of  trees  and  bushes 
could  scarcely  have  been  made  to  wear  so 
finished  an  appearance  as  this  naturally 
decorated  avenue.  The  path  at  length  ter- 
minated at  a  plantation  of  mandioca,  the 
largest  I  had  yet  seen  since  I  left  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Para.  There  were  probably  ten 
acres  of  cleared  land,  and  part  of  the  ground 
was  plaated  with  Indian  corn,  watermelons, 
and  sugar-cane.  Beyond  this  field  there  was 
only  a  faint  hunter's  track,  leading  towaid 
the  untrodden  interior.  My  companion  told 
me  he  had  never  heard  of  there  being  any  in- 
habitants in  that  direction  (the  south).  We 
crossed  the  forest  from  this  place  to  anoth(  r 
smaller  clearing,  and  then  walked,  on  our 
road  home,  through  about  two  miles  of 


784 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


caapoeira  of  various  ages,  the  sites  of  old 
plantations.  The  only  fruits  of  our  ramble 
were  a  few  rare  insects  and  a  Japu  (Cassicus 
cristatus)  a  handsome  bird  with  chestnut  and 
saffron-colored  plumage,  which  wanders 
through  the  tree-tops  in  large  flocks.  My 
little  companion  brought  this  down  from  a 
height  which  I  calculated  at  thirty  yards. 
The  blow-gun,  however,  in  the  hands  of  an 
expert  adult  Indian,  can  be  made  to  propel 
arrows  as  to  kill  at  a  distance  of  fifty  and 
sixty  yards.  The  aim  is  most  certain  when 
the  tube  is  held  vertically,  or  nearly  so.  It 
is  a  far  more  useful  weapon  in  the  forest  than 
a  gun,  for  the  report  of  firearms  alarms  the 
whole  flock  of  birds  or  monkeys  feeding  on 
a  tree,  while  the  silent  poisoned  dart  brings 
the  animals  down  one  by  one,  until  the 
sportsman  has  a  heap  of  slain  by  his  side. 
Noce  but  the  stealthy  Indian  can  use  it 
effectively.  The  poison,  which  must  be 
fresh  to  kill  speedily,  is  obtained  only  of  the 
Indians  who  live  beyond  the  cataracts  of  the 
risers  flowing  from  the  north,  especially  the 
Rio  Negro  and  the  Japura.  Its  principal  in- 
gredient is  the  wood  of  the  Strychnos  toxi- 
fera,  a  tree  which  does  not  grow  in  the  humid 
forests  of  the  river  plains/  A  most  graphic 
account  of  the  Urari,  and  of  an  expedition 
undertaken  in  search  of  the  tree  in  Guiana, 
has  been  given  by  Sir  Robert  Schomburgk.* 
When  we  returned  to  the  house  after  mid- 
day, Cardozo  was  still  sipping  cauim,  and 
now  looked  exceedingly  merry.  It  was  fear- 
fully hot :  the  good  fellow  sat  in  his  ham- 
mock with  a  cuya  full  of  grog  in  his  hands  ; 
Ms  broad  honest  face  all  of  a  glow,  and  the 
perspiration  streaming  down  his  uncovered 
breast,  the  unbuttoned  shirt  having  slipped 
half  way  over  his  broad  shoulders.  Pedro- 
uassii  had  not  drunk  much  ;  he  was  noted, 
as  I  afterward  learned,  for  his  temperance. 
But  he  was  standing  up,  as  I  left  him  two 
hours  previously,  talking  to  Cardozo  in  the 
same  monotonous  tones,  the  conversation  ap- 
parently not  having  flagged  all  the  time.  I 
had  never  heard  so  much  talking  among  In- 
dians. 1  he  widower  was  asleep :  the  stir- 
ring, managing  old  lady  with  her  daughter 
were  preparing  dinner.  This,  which  was 
ready  soots  after  I  entered,  consisted  of  boiled 
fowls  and  rice,  seasoned  with  large  green 
peppers  and  lemon-juice,  and  piles  of  new, 
fragrant  farinha  and  raw  bananas.  It  was 
served  on  plates  of  English  manufacture  on 
a  tupe,  or  large  plaited  rush  mat,  such  as  is 
made  by  the  natives  pretty  generally  on  the 
Amazons.  Three  or  four  other  Indians,  men 
and  women  of  middle  age,  now  made  their 
appearance,  and  joined  in  the  meal.  We  all 
sat  round  on  the  floor,  the  women,  accord 
ing  to  custom,  not  eating  until  after  the  men 
Lad  done.  Before  sitting  down  our  host 
apologized,  in  his  usual  quiet,  co«!  teous  man- 
ner, for  not  having  knives  and  forks  ;  Car- 
«lozo  and  I  ate  by  the  aid  of  wooden  spoons, 
the  Indians  using  their  fingers.  The  old  man 


i*  Annals  sad  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  vol.  vii. 
P.  411. 


waited  until  we  were  all  served  before  he 
himself  commenced.  At  the  end  of  the  meal 
one  of  the  women  brought  us  water  in  a 
painted  clay  basin  of  Indian  manufacture, 
and  a  clean  but  coarse  cotton  napkin,  that 
we  might  wash  our  hands. 

The  horde  of  Passes  of  which  Pearo-uassu 
was  Tushaua  or  chieftain,  was  at  this  time 
reduced  to  a  very  small  number  of  indi- 
viduals. The  disease  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter  had  for  several  generations  made 
great  havoc  among  them  ;  many  also  had  en- 
tered the  service  of  whites  at  Ega,  amd,  of 
late  years,  intermarriages  with  whites, 
half-castes,  and  civilized  Indians  had  been 
frequent.  The  old  man  bewailed  the  fate  of 
his  race  to  Cardozo  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 
".The  people  of  my  nation,"  he  said,  "  have 
always  been  good  friends  to  the  Cariwas 
(whites),  but  before  my  grandchildren  are 
old  like  me  the  name  of  Passe  will  be  for- 
gotten." In  so  far  as  the  Passes  have  amal- 
gamated with  European  immigrants  or  their 
descendants,  and  become  civilized  Brazilian 
citizens,  there  can  scarcely  be  ground  for 
lamenting  their  extinction  as  a  nation  ;  but 
it  fills  one  with  regret  to  learn  how  many 
die  prematurely  of  a  disease  which  seems  to 
arise  on  their  simply  breathing  the  same  air 
as  the  whites.  The  original  territory  of  the 
tribe  must  have  been  of  large  extent,  for 
Passes  are  said  to  have  been  found  by  the 
early  Portuguese  colonists  on  the  Rio  Negro  ; 
an  ancient  settlement  on  that  river,  Barcellos, 
having  been  peopled  by  them  when  it  was 
first  established  ;  and  they  formed  also  part 
of  the  original  population  of  Foute-boa  on 
the  Solimoens.  Their  hordes  were  therefore 
spread  over  a  region  400  miles  in  length  from 
east  to  west.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
they  have  been  confounded  by  the  colonists 
with  other  neighboring  tribes  who  tattoo  their 
faces  in  a  similar  manner.  The  extinct  tribe 
of  Yurimauas,  or  Sorimeas,  from  which  the 
river  Solimoens  derives  its  name,  according 
to  traditions  extant  at  Ega,  resembled  the 
Passes  in  their  slender  figures  and  friendly 
disposition.  These  tribes  (with  others  lying 
betweor.  them)  peopled  the  banks  of  the 
main  river  and  its  by-streams  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Negro  to  Peru.  True  Passes  ex- 
isted in  their  primitive  state  on  the  banks  of 
the  Issa,  240  miles  to  the  west  of  Ega.  within 
the  memory  of  living  persons.  The  only 
large  body  o^  them  now  extant  are  located  on 
the  Japura,  at  a  place  distant  about  150  miles 
from  Ega :  the  population  of  this  horde, 
however,  does  not  exceed,  from  what  I  could 
learn,  300  or  400  persons.  I  think  it  proba- 
ble that  the  lower  part  of  the  Japura  and  its 
extensive  delta  lands  formed  the  original 
home  of  this  gentle  tribe  of  Indians. 

The  Passes  are  always  spoken  of  in  this 
country  as  the  most  advanced  of  all  the  In- 
dian nations  in  the  Amazons  region.  Under 
what  influences  this  tribe  has  become  so 
strongly  modified  in  mental,  social,  and 
bodily  features  it  is  hard  to  divine.  The  in- 
dustrious habits,  fidelity,  and  mildness  of 
disposition  of  the  Passes,  their  ducili'.y  and. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  KIVER  AMAZONS. 


785 


It  may  be  added,  their  personal  beauty,  es-' 
l>ecially  of  the  children  and  women,  made 
them  from  the  first  very  attractive  to  the 
Portuguese  colonists.  They  were,  conse- 
quently, enticed  in  great  numbers  from  their 
villages  and  brought  to  Barra  and  other  set- 
tlements of  the  whites.  The  wives  of  gov- 
ernors and  military  officers  from  Europe 
were  always  eager  to  obtain  children  for 
domestic  servants,  the  girls  being  taught  to 
sew,  cook,  weave  hammocks,  manufacture 
pillow-lace,  and  so  forth.  They  have  been 
generally  treated  with  kindness,  especially 
by  the  educated  families  in  the  settlements. 
It  is  pleasant  to  have  to  record  that  I  never 
beard  of  a  deed  of  violence  perpetrated,  on 
the  one  side  or  the  other,  in  the  dealings  be- 
f.veen  European  settlers  and  this  noble  tribe 
of  savages. 

We  started  on  our  return  to  Ega  at  half- 
past  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Our 
grnerous  entertainers  leaded  us  with  presents. 
There  was  scarcely  room  for  us  to  sit  in  the 
canoe,  as  they  had  sent  down  tea  large  bun- 
dbs  of  sugar-cane,  four  baskets  of  farinha, 
three  cedar  planks,  a  small  hamper  of  coffee, 
and  two  heavy  bunches  of  bananas.  After 
we  were  embarked  the  old  lady  came  with  a 
parting  gift  for  me — a  huge  bowl  of  smoking 
hot  banana  porridge.  I  was  to  eat  it  on  the 
road,"  to  keep  my  stomach  warm."  Both 
stood  on  the  bank  as  we  pushed  off,  and 
gave  us  their  adeos,  ' '  Ikuana  Tupana 
eiriim"  (Go  with  God) :  a  form  of  salutation 
taught  by  the  old  Jesuit  missionaries.  We 
had  a  most  uncomfortable  passage,  for  Car- 
dozo  was  quite  tipsy,  and  had  not  attended  to 
the  loading  of  the  boat.  The  cargo  had  been 
placed  too  far  forward,  and  to  make  matters 
worse  ray  heavy  friend  obstinately  insisted 
on  sitting  astride  on  the  top  of  the  pile,  in- 
stead of  taking  his  place  near  the  stern  ; 
singing  from  his  perch  a  most  indecent  love- 
song,  and  disregarding  the  inconvenience  of 
having  to  bend  down  almost  every  minute  to 
pass  under  the  boughs  and  hanging  sipos  as 
we  sped  rapidly  along.  The  canoe  leaked, 
but  not  at  first  alarmingly.  Long  before 
.sunset  darkness  began  to  close  in  under  these 
.frloomy  shades,  and  our  steersman  could  not 
-avoid  now  and  then  running  the  boat  into 
the  thicket.  The  first  time  this  happened  a 
piece  was  broken  off  the  square  prow  (roUel- 
Ja) :  the  second  time  we  got  squeezed  be- 
t  *veen  two  trees.  A  short  time  after  this  lat- 
ter accident,  being  seated  near  the  stern,  wit.*i 
.my  feet  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  I  felt 
rather  suddenly  the  cold  water  above  my 
ankles.  A  few  minutes  more  and  we  should 
have  sunk,  for  a  seam  had  been  opened  for 
ward  under  the  pile  of  sugar-cane.  Two  of 
us  began  to  bale,  and  by  the  most  strenuous 
efforts  managed  to  keep  afloat  without  throw- 
ing overboard  our  cargo.  The  Indians  were 
obliged  to  paddle  with  extreme  slowness  to 
avoid  shipping  water  as  the  edge  of  our 
prow  was  nearly  level  with  the  surface  ;  but 
Cardozo  was  now  persuaded  to  change  his 
seat.  The  sun  set,  the  quick  twilight  parsed, 
.and  the  mcon  soon  after  begun  to  glimmer 


through  the  thick  canopy  of  foliage.  The 
prospect  of  being  swamped  in  this  hideous 
solitude  was  by  no  means  pleasant,  although 
I  calculated  on  the  chance  of  swimming  to  a 
tree  and  finding  a  nice  snug  place  in  the  fork 
of  some  large  bough  wherein  to  pass  the  night. 
'At  length,  after  four  hours'  tedious  progress, 
we  suddenly  emerged  on  the  open  stream, 
where  the  moonlight  glittered  in  broad  sheets 
on  the  gently  rippling  waters.  A  little  extra 
care  was  now  required  in  paddling.  The 
Indians  plied  their  strokes  with  the  greatest 
nicety  ;  the  lights  of  Ega  (the  oil-lamps  in 
the  houses)  soon  appeared  beyond  the  black 
wall  of  forest,  and  in  a  short  time  we  leaped 
safely  ashore. 

A  few  months  after  the  excursion  just  nar- 
rated, I  accompanied  Cardozo  in  many  wan- 
derings on  the  Solimoens,  during  which  we 
visited  the  praias  (sand  islands),  the  turtle 
pools  in  the  forests,  and  the  by -streams  and 
lakes  of  the  great  desert  river.  His  object 
was  mainly  to  superintend  the  business  of 
digging  up  turtle  eggs  on  the  sand-banks, 
having  been  elected  commandante  for  the 
year,  by  the  municipal  council  of  Ega,  of 
the  "  praia  real"  (royal  sand  island)  of  Shi- 
muni,  the  one  lying  nearest  to  Ega.  Theie 
are  four  of  these  royal  praias  within  the  Ega 
district  (a  distance  of  150  miles  from  the 
town),  all  of  which  are  visited  annually  by 
the  Ega  people  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
eggs  and  extracting  oil  from  their  yolks. 
Each  has  its  commander,  whose  business  is 
to  make  arrangements  for  securing  to  every 
inhabitant  an  equal  chance  in  the  egg  har- 
vest, by  placing  sentinels  to  protect  the  tur- 
tles while  laying,  and  so  forth.  The  preg- 
nant turtles  descend  from  the  interior  pools 
to  the  main  river  in  July  and  August,  before 
the  outlets  dry  up,  and  then  seek  in  countless 
swarms  their  favorite  sand  islands  ;  for  it  is 
only  a  few  praias  that  are  selected  by  them 
out  of  the  great  number  existing.  The 
young  animals  remain  in  the  pools  through- 
out the  dry  season.  These  breeding- places 
of  turtles  then  lie  twenty  to  thirty  or  more 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  are  ac- 
cessible only  by  cutting  roads  through  th  3 
dense  forest. 

We  left  Ega  on  our  first  trip,  to  visit  the 
sentinels  while  the  turtles  were  yet  laying, 
on  the  26th  of  September  Our  canoe  was  u 
stoutly-built  iga.ite,  arranged  for  ten  pad- 
diets,  and  having  a  large  arched  toldo  at  the 
stern,  under  which  lime  persons  could  sleep 
pretty  comfoitably.  Emerging  from  the 
Teffe,  we  descended  rapidly  on  the  swift  cur- 
rent of  the  Sulimoens  to  the  south-eastern  or 
lower  end  of  the  large  wooded  island  of 
Baria,  which  here  divides  the  river  into  two 

freat  channels.  We  then  paddled  across  to 
himuni,  which  lies  in  the  middle  of  the 
north-easterly  channel,  reaching  the  com- 
mencement of  the  praia  an  hour  before  sun- 
set. The  island  proper  is  about  three  miles 
long  and  half  a  mile  broad  :  the  forest  with 
which  it  is  covered  rises  to  an  immense  and 
uniform  height,  and  presents  all  round  a 


736 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


compact,  impervious  front.  Here  and  there 
a  singular  tree,  called  Pao  mulatto  (mulatto 
wood),  with  polished  dark  green  trunk,  rose 
conspicuously  among  the  mass  of  vegetation . 
The  sand-bank,  which  lies  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  island,  extends  several  miles,  and 
presents  an  irregular  and  in  some  parts 
strongly- waved  surface,  with  deep  hollows 
and  ridges.  When  upon  it,  one  feels  as 
though  treading  an  almost  boundless  field  of 
sand  ;  for  toward  the  south-east,  where  no 
forest  line  terminates  the  view,  the  white 
rolling  plain  stretches  away  to  the  horizon. 
The  north-easterly  channel'of  the  river,  lying 
between  the  sands  and  the  farther  shore  of 
the  river,  is  at  least  two  miles  in  breadth  ; 
the  middle  one,  between  the  two  islands, 
Shimuni  and  Baria,  is  not  much  less  than  a 
mile. 

Wre  found  the  two  sentinels  lodged  in  a 
corner  of  the  praia.  where  it  commences  at 
the  foot  of  the  towering  forest-wall  of  the 
island,  having  built  for  themselves  a  little 
rancho  with  poles  and  palm-leaves.  Great 
precautions  are  obliged  to  be  taken  to  avoid 
disturbing  the  sensitive  turtles,  who,  pre- 
vious to  crawling  ashore  to  lay,  assemble  in 
great  shoals  off  the  sand- bunk.  The  men, 
during  this  time,  take  care  not  to  show  them- 
selves, and  warn  off  any  fisherman  who 
wishes  to  pass  near  the  place.  Their  fires 
are  made  in  a  deep  hollow  near  the  borders 
of  the  forest,  so  that  the  smoke  may  not  be 
visible.  The  passage  of  a  boat  through  the 
shallow  waters  where  the  animals  are  con- 
gregated, or  the  sight  of  a  man  or  a  fire  on 
the  sand-bank,  would  prevent  the  turtles 
from  leaving  the  water  that  night  to  lay  their 
eggs,  and  if  the  causes  of  alarm  were  repeat- 
ed once  or  twice  they  would  forsake  the  praia 
for  some  other  quieter  place.  Soon  after  we 
arrived  our  men  were  sent  with  the  net  to 
catch  a  supply  of  fish  for  supper.  In  half 
an  hour  four  or  fi?e  large  basketfulsof  Acari 
were  brought  in.  The^sun  set  soen  after  our 
meal  was  cooked  ;  we  were  then  obliged  to 
extinguish  the  fire  and  remove  cur  supper 
materials  to  the  sleeping  ground,  a  spit  of 
sand  about  a  mile  off,  this  course  being 
necessary  on  account  of  the  mosquitoes 
which  swarm  at  night  on  the  borders  of  the 
1  forest. 

One  of  the  sentinels  was  a  taciturn,  morose 
looking,  but  sober  and  honest  Indian,  named 
Dauiel  ;  the  other  was  a  noted  character  of 
Ega,  a  little  wiry  mameluco,  named  Carepira 
(Fish-hawk),  known  for  his  waggery,  pro- 
pensity for  strong  drink,  and  indebtedness  to 
^Ega  traders.  Both  were  intrepid  canoe-men 
*and  huntsmen,  and  both  perfectly  at  home 
'anywhere  in  these  fearful  wastes  of  forest 
jand  water.  Carepira  had  his  son  with  him, 
a  quiet  little  lad  of  about  nine  years  of  age. 
These  men  in  a  few  minutes  constructed  a 
small  shed  with  four  upright  poles  and  leaves 
of  the  arrow-grass,  under  whicli  I  and  Car- 
dozo  slung  our  hammocks.  We  did  not  go 
to  sleep,  however,  until  after  midnight. ;  for 
when  supper  was  over  we  lay  abeut  on  the 
eand  with  a  flask  of  rum  in  our  midst,  aai 


whiled  away  the  still  hours  in  listening  to* 
Carepira's  stories. 

I  rose  from  my  hammock    by  daylight, 
shivering  with  cold  ;  a  praia,  on  account  of 
the  great  radiation  of  heat  in  the  night  from 
the  sand,  being  toward  the  dawn  the  coldest 
place  that  can  be  found  in  this  climate.    Car- 
dozo  and  the  men  were  already  up  watching 
the  turtles.      The  sentinels  had  erected  for 
this  purpose  a  stajj;e  about  fifty  feet  high,  on 
a  tall  tree  near  their  station,  the  ascent   to 
which  was    by  a    roughly-made   ladder  of 
woody  lianas.     They  are  enabled,  by  observ- 
ing the  turtles  from  this  watchtower,  to  as- 
certain the  date  of  successive   deposits    of 
eggs,  and  thus  guide  the   commandante  in 
fixing  the  time  for  the  general  invitation  U> 
the  Ega  people.     The  turtles  la}'  their  eggs 
b'y  night,  leaving  the  water,  when  nothing 
disturbs  them,  in  vast  crowds,  and  crawling 
to  the  central  aud  highest  part  of  the  praia. 
These  places  are,  of  course,  the  last  to  go 
under  water  when,  in  unusually  wet  seasons, 
the  river  rises  before  the  eggs  are  hatched  by 
the  heat  of  the  sand.     One  could  almost  by 
lieve,  from  this,  that  the  animals  used  f 01  e 
thought  in  choosing  a  place  ;  but  it  is  simply 
one  of  those  many  instances  in  animals  where 
unconscious  habit  has  the  same  result  as  coii- 
s^ious  prevision.     The  hours  between  mid- 
night and  dawn  are  the  busiest.     The  turtles 
excavate  with  their  broad  webbed  paws  deep 
holes  in  the  fine  sand  :  the  first  comer,  in 
each  case,  making  a  pit  about  three  feet 
deep,  laying  its  eggs  (about  120  in  number) 
and  covering  them  with  sand  ;  the  next  mak- 
ing its  deposit  at  the  top  of  that  of  its  prede- 
cessor, and  so  on  until  every  pit  is   full. 
The  whole   body  of  turtles  frequenting  a 
praia  does  not  finish  laying  in  less  tliari  four- 
teen or  fifteen  days,  even  when  there  is  no « 
interruption.     When  all  have  done,  the  area 
(called  by  the  Brazilians  taboleiro),  over  which 
they  have  excavated,  is  distinguishable  from 
the  rest  of  the  praia  only  by  signs  of  the  sand 
having  been  a  little  disturbed. 

On  rising  I  went  to  join  my  friends.  Few 
recollections  of  my  Amazonian  rambles  are 
more  vivid  and  agreeable  than  that  of  my 
walk  over  the  white  sea  of  sand  on  this  cool 
morning.  The  sky  was  cloudless  ;  the  just- 
risen  sun  was  hidden  behind  the  dark  mass 
of  woods  on  Shimuni,  but  the  long  line  of 
forest  to  the  west,  on  Baria,  with  its  plumy 
decorations  of  palms,  was  lighted  up  with 
his  yellow,  horizontal  rays.  A  faint  chorus  of 
singing  birds  reached  the  ears  from  acro?s 
the  water,  and  flocks  of  gulls  and  plovers 
were  crying  plaintively  over  the  swelling 
banks  of  the  praia,  where  their  eggs  lay  in 
nests  made  in  little  hollows  of  the  sand. 
Tracks  of  stray  turtles  were  visible  on  the 
smooth  white  surface  of  the  praia.  The  ani- 
mals which  thus  wander  from  the  main  body 
are  lawful  prizes  of  the  sentinels  ;  they  bad 
caught  in  this  way  two  before  sunrise,  one 
of  which  we  had  for  dinner.  In  my  walk  I 
disturbed  several  pairs  of  the  chocolate  and 
drab-colored  wild-goose  (Anser  jubatus), 
which  set  off  to  run  along  the  edge  of  the 


THE  NATURALIST   ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


737 


•water.  The  enjoyment  one  feels  in  rambling 
over  these  free,  open  spaces,  is  no  doubt  en- 
Lanced  by  the  novelty  of  the  scene,  the 
change  being  very  great  from  the  monoto- 
nous landscape  of  forest  which  everywhere 
-else  presents  itself. 

On  arriving  at  the  edge  of  the  forest  I 
mounted  the  sentinel's  stage,  just  in  time  to 
see  the  turtles  retreating  to  the  water  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  sand-bank,  after  having 
laid  their  eggs.  The  sight  was  well  worth 
the  trouble  of  ascending  the  shaky  ladder. 
They  were  about  a  mile  off,  but  the  surface 
of  the  sands  was  blackened  with  the  multi- 
tudes which  were  waddling  toward  the 
river  ;  the  margin  of  the  praia  was  rather 
.steep,  and  they  all  seemed  to  tumble  head 
first  down  the  declivity  into  the  water. 

I  spent  the  morning  of  the  27tb  collecting 
insects  in  the  woods  of  Shimuni,  assisting 
my  friend  in  the  afternoon  to  beat  a  large 
pjol  for  Tracajas,  Cardozo  wishing  to  obtain 
a  supply  for  his  table  at  home.  The  pool 
was  nearly  a  mile  long,  and  lay  on  one  side 
•of  the  island  between  the  forests  and  the 
sand-bank.  The  sands  are  heaped  up  very 
curiously  around  the  margins  of  these  iso- 
lated sheets  of  water  ;  in  the  present  case 
they  formed  a  steeply -inclined  bank,  from 
five  to  eight  feet  in  height.  What  may  be 
the  cause  of  this  formation  I  cannot  imagine. 
The  pools  always  contain  a  quantity  of  im- 
prisoned fish,  turtles,  Tracajas,  and  Aiyus- 
sas.  The  turtles  and  Aiyussas  crawl  out 
voluntarily  in  th«  course  of  a  few  days,  and 
escape  to  the  main  river,  but  the  Tracajas 
remain  and  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  na- 
tives. The  ordinary  mode  of  obtaining  them 
is  to  whip  the  water  in  every  part  with  rods 
lor  several  hours  during  the  day,  this  treat- 
ment having  the  effect  of  driving  the  animals 
out.  They  wait,  however,  until  the  night 
following  the  beaiing  before  making  their 
exit.  Our  Indians  were  occupied  for  many 
hours  in  this  work,  and  when  night  came  they 
and  the  sentinels  were  placed  at  intervals 
ylone;  the  edge  of  the  water,  to  be  ready  to 
capture  the  runav.T«,vs.  Cardozo  and  I,  after 
supper,  went  and  took  our  station  at  one  end 
of  the  pool. 

Wo  did  not  succeed,  after  all  our  trouble, 
in  getting  many  Tracajas.  This  was  partly 
owing  to  the  intense  darkness  of  the  night, 
*od  partly,  doubtless,  to  the  sentinels  having 
already  nearly  exhausted  the  pool,  notwith- 
standing their  declarations  to  the  contrary, 
lu  waiting  for  the  animals  it  was  necessary 
to  keep  'silence :  not  a  pleasant  way  of 
passing  the  night,  speaking  only  in  whis- 
pers, and  being  without  fire  in  a  place 
liable  to  be  visited  by  a  prowling  ja- 
guar. Cardozo  and  I  sat  on  a  sandy  slope 
with  our  loaded  guns  by  our  side,  but  it 
was  so  dark  we  could  scarcely  see  each 
other.  Toward  midnight  a  storm  began  to 
gather  around  us.  The  faint  wind  which 
had  breathed  from  over  the  water,  since  the 
sun  went  down,  ceased  ;  thick  clouds  piled 
themselves  up  until  every  star  was  obscured, 
and  gleams  of  watery  lightning  began  to  play 


In  the  midst  of  the  black  masses.  I  hinted 
to  Cardozo  that  I  thought  we  had  now  had 
enough  of  watching,  and  suggested  a  ciga- 
rette. Just  then  a  quick  pattering  movement 
was  heard  on  the  sands,  and  grasping  our 
guns  we  both  started  to  our  feet.  Whatever 
it  might  have  been  it  seemed  to  pass  by,  and 
a  few  moments  afterward  a  dark  body  ap- 
peared to  be  moving  in  another  direction  on 
the  opposite  slope  of  the  sandy  ravine  where 
we  lay.  We  prepared  to  fire,  but  luckily 
took  the  precaution  of  first  shouting  "  Quern 
vai  la  ?' '  (Who  goes  there  ?)  It  turned  out  to 
be  the  taciturn  sentinel,  Daniel,  who  asked 
us  mildly  whether  we  had  heard  a  "  raposa" 
pass  our  way.  The  raposa  is  a  kind  of  wild 
dog,  with  very  loog  tapering  muzzle,  and 
black  and  white  speckled  hair.  Daniel  could 
distinguish  all  kinds  of  animals  in  the  dark 
by  their  footsteps.  It  now  began  to  thunder, 
and  our  position  was  getting  very  uncomfort- 
able. Daniel  had  not  seen  anything  of  the 
other  Indians,  and  thought  it  was  useless 
waiting  any  longer  for  Tracajas  ;  we  there- 
fore sent  him  to  call  in  the  whole  party,  and 
made  off  ourselves,  as  quickly  as  we  could, 
for  the  canoe.  The  rest  of  the  night  was 
passed  most  miserably,  as  indeed  were  very 
many  of  my  nights  on  the  Solimoeiis.  A 
furious  squall  burst  upon  us  ;  the  wind  blew 
away  ihe  cloths  and  mats  we  had  fixed  up  at 
the  ends  of  the  arched  awning  of  the  canoe 
to  shelter  ourselves,  and  the  rain  beat  right 
through  our  sleeping- place.  There  we  lay, 
Cardozo  and  I,  huddled  together,  and  wet 
through,  waiting  for  the  morning. 

A  cup  of  strong  and  hot  coffee  put  us  to 
rights  at  sunrise  ;  but  the  rain  was  still  com- 
ing down,  having  changed  to  a  steady  driz- 
zle. Our  men  were  all  returned  from  the 
pool,  having  taken  only  four  Tracajas.  The 
business  which  had  brought  Cardozo  hither 
being  now  finished,  we  set  out  to  return  to 
Ega,"  leaving  the  sentinels  once  more  to  their 
solitude  on  the  sands.  Our  return  route  was 
by  the  rarely  frequented  north-easterly  chan- 
nel of  the  Solimoens,  through  which  flows 
part  of  the  waters  of  its  great  tributary 
stream,  the  Jupuia.  We  travelled  for  five 
hours  along  the  desolate,  broken,  timber- 
strewn  shore  of  Baria.  The  channel  is  of 
immense  breadth,  the  opposite  coast  being 
visible  only  as  a  long  low  line  of  forest.  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  doubled 
the  upper  end  of  the  island,  and  then  crossed 
toward  the  mouth  of  the  Teffe  by  a  broad 
transverse  channel  running  between  Baria 
and  another  island  called  Quanarii.  There 
is  a  small  suud  bank  at  the  north-westerly 
point  of  Baria  called  Jacaie  ;  we  stayed  here 
to  dine  and  afterward  fished  with  the  net. 
A  fine  rain  was  still  falling,  and  we  had 
capital  sport,  in  three  hauls  taking  more  fish 
than  our  canoe  would  conveniently  hold. 
They  were  of  two  kinds  only,  the  Surubim 
and  the  Piraepietia  (species  of  Pimelodus), 
very  handsome  fishes,  four  feet  in  length, 
with  flat  spoon-shaped  heads,  and  prettily- 
spotted  and  striped  skins. 

On  our  way  from  Jacare  to  the  mouth  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


the  Teffe  we  had  a  little  adventure  with  a 
black  tiger  or  jaguar.  We  were  paddling 
rapidly  past  a  long  beach  of  dried  mud,  when 
the  Indians  became  suddenly  excited,  shout- 
ing "  Ecu!  Jauarete  ;  Jauari  pixuna  !"  (Be- 
hold the  jaguar,  the  black  jaguar  !)  Looking 
ahead,  we  saw  the  animal  quietly  drinking 
at  the  water's  edge.  Cardozo  ordered  the 
steersman  at  once  to  put  us  ashore.  By  the 
time  we  were  landed  the  tiger  had  seen  us, 
and  was  retracing  his  steps  toward  the  for- 
est. On  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  without 
thinking  of  what  we  were  doing,  we  took 
our  guns  (mine  was  a  double-barrel,  with  one 
charge  of  BB  and  one  of  dust-shot)  and  gave 
chase.  The  animal  increased  his  speed,  and 
reaching  the  forest  border  dived  into  the 
dense  mass  of  broad-leaved  grass  which 
formed  its  frontage.  We  peeped  through 
the  gap  he  had  made,  but,  our  courage  being 
by  this  time  cooled,  we  did  not  think  it  wise 
to  go  into  the  tbicket  after  him.  The  black 
tiger  appears  to  be  more  abundant  than  the 
spotted  form  of  jaguar  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Ega.  The  most  certain  niethuv*  of  finding 
it  is  to  hunt,  assisted  bye  string  of  Indians 
shouting  and  driving  the  ^ame  before  them, 
in  the  narrow  restmgas  or  strips  of  dry  land 
in  the  forest,  which  are  isolated  by  the  flood- 
ing  of  their  neighborhood  in  the  wet  season. 
We  reached  Ega  by  eight  o'clock  at  night. 

On  the  6th  of  October  we  left  Ega  on  a 
second  excursion  ;  the  principal  object  of 
Cardozo  being,  this  time,  to  search  certain 
pools  in  the  forest  for  young  turtles.  The 
exact  situation  of  these  hidden  sheets  of 
water  is  known  only  to  a  few  practised  hunts- 
men ;  we  took  one  of  these  men  with  us  from 
Ega,  a  mameluco  named  Pedro,  and  on  our 
way  called  at  Shi  muni  for  Daniel  to  serve  as 
an  additional  guide.  We  started  from  the 
praia  at  sunrise  on  the  7th  in  two  canoes  con- 
taining twenty-three  persons,  nineteen  of 
whom  were  Indians.  The  morning  was 
cloud}'  and  cool,  and  a  fresh  wind  blew  from 
down  river,  against  which  we  had  to  struggle 
with  all  the  force  of  our  paddles,  aided  by 
the  current  ;  the  boats  were  tossed  about 
most  disagreeably,  and  shipped  a  great  deal 
of  water.  On  passing  the  lower  end  of  Shi- 
muni,  a  long  reach  of  the  river  was  before 
us,  undivided  by  islands,  a  magnificent  ex- 
panse of  water  stretching  away  to  the  south- 
east. The  country  on  the  left  bank  is  not, 
however,  terra  firma,  but  a  portion  of  the  al- 
luvial land  which  forms  the  extensive  and 
complex  delta  region  of  the  Japura.  It  is 
flooded  every  year  at  the  time  of  high  water, 
and  is  traversed  by  many  narrow  and  deep 
channels  which  serve  as  outlets  to  the  Japura, 
or  at  least  are  connected  with  that  river  by 
means  of  the  interior  water  system  of  the 
Cupiyo.  This  inhospitable  tract  of  country 
extends  for  several  hundred  miles,  and  con- 
tains in  its  midst  an  endless  number  of  pools 
and  lakes  tenanted  by  multitudes  of  turtles, 
fishes,  alligators,  and  water  serpents.  Our 
destination  was  a  point  on  this  coast  situated 
about  twenty  miles  below  Shimuni,  and  », 


short  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  AnanaV, 
one  of  the  channels  just  alluded  to  as  con- 
nected  with  the  Japura.  After  travelling- 
for  three  hours  in  mid-stream  we  steered  for 
the  land,  and  brought  to  under  a  steeply-in- 
clined bank  of  crumbly  earth,  shaped  into  a 
iiiccessiou  of  steps  or  tei  races,  marking  the 
rarious  halts  which  the  waters  of  the  river 
make  in  the  course  of  subsidence.  The  coast 
line  was  nearly  straight  for  many  miles,  and 
the  bank  averaged  about  thirty  feet  in  height 
above  the  present  level  of  the  river:  at  the 
top  rose  the  unbroken  hedge  of  forest.  No 
one  could  have  divined  that  pools  of  water 
existed  on  that  elevated  land.  A  narrow 
level  space  extended  at  the  foot  of  the  bank. 
On  landing  the  first  business  was  to  get 
breakfast.  While  a  couple  of  Indian  lads 
were  employed  in  making  the  fire,  roasting 
the  fish,  and  boiling  the  coffee,  the  rest  of 
the  party  mounted  the  bank,  and  with  their 
long  hunting-knives  commenced  cutting  a 
path  through  the  forest  ;  the  pool,  called  the 
Aningal,  being  about  half  a  aiile  distant. 
After  breakfast  a  great  number  of  short  poles 
were  cut  arid  were  laid  crosswise  on  the  path, 
and  then  three  light  montarias  which  we  had 
brought  with  us  were  dragged  up  the  bank 
by  lianas,  and  rolled  away  to  be  embarked  on 
the  pool.  A  large  net,  seventy  yatds  iu 
length,  was  then  disembarked  and  carried  to 
the  place.  The  work  was  done  very  speedily, 
and  when  Cardozo  and  I  went  to  the  spot  at 
eleven  o'clock  we  found  some  of  the  older 
Indians,  including  Pedro  and  Daniel,  had 
begun  their  sport.  They  were  mounted  on 
little  stages  called  moutas,  made  of  poles  and 
crosspieces  of  wood  secured  with  lianas,  and 
were  shooting  the  turtles  as  they  came  near 
the  surface,  with  bows  and  arrows.  The  In- 
dians seemed  to  think  that  netting  the  ani- 
mals, as  Cardozo  proposed  doing,  was  not 
lawful  sport,  and  wished  first  to  have  an  hour 
or  two's  old-fashioned  practice  with  their 
weapons. 

The  pool  covered  an  area  of  about  four  or 
five  acres,  and  was  closely  hemmed  in  by 
the  forest,  which  in  picturesque  variety  and 
grouping  of  trees  and  foliage  exceeded  almost 
everything  I  had  yet  witnessed.  The  mar- 
gins for  some  distance  were  swampy,  and 
covered  with  large  tufts  of  a  fine  grass  called 
Matupa.  These  tufts  in  many  places  weio 
overrun  with  ferws,  and  exterior  to  them,  a, 
crowded  row  of  arborescent  arums,  grow- 
ing to  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet, 
formed  a  green  palisade.  Around  the  whole 
stood  the  taller  forest  trees  ;  palmate-leaved 
Cecropiae  ;  slender  Assai  palms,  thirl}'  feet 
high,  with  their  thin  feathery  heads  crown- 
ing the  gently-curving  smooth  stems  ;  small 
fan-leaved  palms  ;  and  as  a  background  to 
all  these  airy  shapes,  lay  the  voluminous 
masses  of  ordinary  forest  trees,  with  garlands, 
festoons,  and  streamers  of  leaf -climbers  hang- 
ing from  their  branches.  The  pool  was  no- 
where more  than  five  feet  deep,  one  foot  of 
which  was  not  water,  but  extremely  fine  and 
soft  mud. 
,  Cardozo  and  I  spent  an  hour  paddling 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


73* 


about.  I  was  astonished  at  the  skill  which 
the  Indians  disp'ay  in  shooting  turtles.  They 
did  not  wait  for  their  coming  to  the  surface 
to  breathe,  but  watched  for  the  slight  move- 
ments in  the  water  which  revealed  their 
presence  underneath.  These  little  tracks  on 
the  water  are  called  the  Siriri  ;  the  instant 
one  was  perceived  an  arrow  flew  from  the 
bow  of  the  nearest  man,  and  never  failed  to 
pierce  the  shell  of  the  submerged  animal. 
When  the  turtle  was  very  distant,  of  course 
the  aim  had  to  be  taken  at  a  considerable  ele- 
vation, but  the  marksmen  preferred  a  lungish 
range,  because  the  arrow  then  fell  more  per- 
pendicularly on  the  shell,  and  entered  it  more 
deeply. 

The  arrow  used  in  turtle  shooting  has  a 
strong  lancet-shaped  steel  point,  fitted  into  a 
peg  which  enters  the  tip  of  the  shaft.  The 
peg  is  secured  to  the  shaft  by  twine  made  of 
the  fibres  of  pineapple  leaves,  the  twine 
being  some  thirty  or  forty  yards  in  length, 
and  neatly  wound  round  the  body  of  the 
arrow.  When  the  missile  enters  the  shell, 
the  peg  drops  out,  and  the  pierced  animal 
descends  with  it  toward  the  bottom,  leaving 
the  shaft  floating  on  the  surface.  This  being 
done,  the  sportsman  paddles  in  his  montaria 
to  the  place,  and  gently  draws  the  animal  by 
the  twine,  humoring  it  by  giving  it  the  rein 
when  it  plunges,  until  it  is  brought  again  near 
the  surface,  when  he  strikes  it  with  a  second 
arrow.  With  the  increased  hold  given  by 
the  two  cords  he  has  then  no  difficulty  in 
landing  his  game. 

By  mid-day  the  men  had  shot  about  a  score 
of  nearly  full-grown  turtles.  Cardozo  then 
gave  orders  to  spread  the  net.  The  spongy, 
swampy  nature  of  the  banks  made  it  impos* 
sible  to  work  the  net  so  as  to  draw  the  booty 
ashore ;  another  method  was  therefore 
adopted.  The  net  was  taken  by  two  Indians 
and  extended  in  a  curve  at  one  extremity  of 
the  oval-shaped  pool,  holding  it  when  they 
had  done  so  by  the  perpendicular  rods  fixed 
at  each  end  ;  its  breadth  was  about  equal  to 
the  depth  of  the  water,  its  shotted  side  there^ 
fore  rested  on  the  bottom,  while  the  floats 
buoyed  it  up  on  the  surface,  so  that  the 
whole,  when  the  ends  were  brought  together, 
-would  form  a  complete  trap.  The  rest  of 
the  party  then  spread  themselves  around  the 
swamp  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  pool,  and 
begun  to  beat,  with,  stout  poles,  the  thick 
tufts  of  Matupa,  in  order  to  drive  the  turtles 
toward  the  middle.  This  was  continued  for 
an  hour  or  more,  the  beaters  gradually  draw- 
ing nearer  to  each  other,  and  driving  the 
hosts  of  animals  before  them  ;  the  number 
of  little  snouts  constantly  popping  above  the 
surface  of  the  water  showing  that  all  was 
going  on  well.  When  they  neared  the  net, 
i he  men  moved  more  quickly,  shouting  and 
beating  with  great  vigor.  The  ends  of  the  net 
were  then  seized  by  several  strong  hands  ami 
dragged  suddt-uly  forward,  bringing  them  at 
the'same  time  together,  so  as  to  inclose  all 
the  booty  in  a  circle.  Every  man  now  leaptd 
into  tin:  inrlnsiire,  the  boats  were  brought 
u4i.  MI!  the  turtles  easily  captured  bv.lki' 


hand  and  tossed  into  them.  I  jumped  in 
along  with  the  rest,  although  I  had  just  be- 
fore made  the  discovery  that  the  pool 
abounded  in  ugly,  red,  four- angled  leeches, 
having  seen  several  of  these  delectable  ani- 
mals, which  sometimes  fasten  on  the  legs  of 
fishermen,  although  they  did  not,  on  this 
day,  trouble  us,  working  their  way  through 
cracks  in  the  bottom  of  our  monlaria.  Car- 
dozo, who  remained  with  the  boats,  could 
not  turn  the  animals  on  their  backs  fast 
enough,  so  that  a  great  many  clambered  out 
and  got  free  again.  However,  three  boat- 
loads, or  about  eighty,  were  secured  in  about 
twenty  minutes.  They  were  then  taken 
ashore,  and  each  one  secured  by  the  men 
tying  the  legs  with  thongs  of  bast. 

When  the  canoes  had  been  twice  filled  we 
desisted,  after  a  very  hard  day's  work. 
Nearly  all  the  animals  were  young  ones, 
chiefly,  according  to  the  statement  of  Pedro, 
from  three  to  ten  years  of  age  ;  they  varied 
from  six  to  eighteen  inches  in  length,  and 
were  very  fat.  Cardozo  and  I  lived  almost 
exclusively  on  them  for  several  months  after- 
ward. Roasted  in  Ihe  shell  they  form  a  most 
appetizing  dish.  These  y oung<*  turtles  never 
migrate  with  their  elders  on  the  sinking  of 
the  waters,  but  remain  in  the  tepid  pools, 
fattening  on  fallen  fruits,  and,  according  to 
the  natives,  on  the  fine  nutritious  rnud.  We 
captured  a  few  full-grown  mother-turtles, 
which  were  known  at  once  by  the  horny  skin 
of  their  breast-plates  being  worn,  telling  of 
their  having  crawled  on  the  sands  to  lay  eggs  - 
the  previous  year.  They  had  evidently  made 
a  mistake  in  not  leaving  the  pool  at  the 
proper  time,  for  they  were  full  of  eggs, 
which,  we  were  told,  they  would,  before  the 
season  was  over,  scatter  in  despair  over  the 
swamp.  We  also  found  several  male  turtles, 
or  Capitaris,  as  they  are  called  by  the  na- 
tives. These  are  immensely  less  numerous 
than  the  females,  and  are  distinguishable  by 
their  much  smaller  size,  more  circular  shape, 
and  the  greater  length  and  thickness  of  their 
tails.  Their  flesh  "is  considered  unwhole- 
some, especially  to  sick  people  having  exter- 
nal signs  of  inflammation.  All  diseases  in 
these  parts,  as  well  as  their  remedies,  and  all 
articles  of  food  are  classed  by  the  inhabit- 
ants as  "  hot"  and  "  cold,"  and  the  meat  of 
the  Capitari  is  settled  by  unanimous  const  nt 
as  belonging  to  the  "  hot"  list. 

We  dined  on  the  banks  of  the  river  a  little 
before  sunset.  The  mosquitoes  then  began 
t6  be  troublesome,  and  finding  it  would  be 
impossible  to  sleep  here,  we  all  embarked  and 
crossed  the  river  to  a  sand-bank,  about  three 
miles  distant,  where  we  passed  the  night. 
Cardozo  and  I  slept  in  our  hammocks  slung 
between  upright  poles,  the  rest  stretching 
themselves  on  the  sand  round  a  large  fiie. 
We  lay  awake  conversing  until  pu&i  mid- 
night. It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  listen  to  the 
stories  told  by  one  of  the  older  men,  they 
were  given  with  so  much  spirit.  The  tales 
always  related  to  struggles  with  some  intract- 
able animal — jaguar,  manatee,  or  alligator. 
M'Uiy  interjections  and  expressive  g.stuits  . 


740 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


^were  used,  and  at  the  end  came  a  sudden 
""  Pa  !  terra  !"  when  the  animal  was  van- 
quished by  a  shot  or  a  blow.  Many  myste- 
rious tales  were  recounted  about  the  Bouto, 
as  the  large  Dolphin  of  the  Amazons  is 
called.  One  of  them  was  to  the  effect  that  a 
Bouto  once  had  the  habit  of  assuming  the 
shape  of  a  beautiful  woman,  with  hair  hang- 
ing loose  to  her  heels,  and  walking  ashore 
at  night  in  the  streets  of  Ega,  to  entice  the 
.young  men  down  to  the  water.  If  any  one 
was  so  much  smitten  as  to  follow  her  to  the 
water-side,  she  grasped  her  victim  lound  the 
waist  and  plunged  beneath  the  waves  with  a 
triumphant  cry.  No  animal  in  the  Amazons 
region  is  the  subject  of  so  many  fables  as  the 
Brmto ;  but  it  is  probable  these  did  not 
originate  with  the  Indians,  but  with  the  Por- 
tuguese colonists.  It  was  several  years  be- 
fore I  could  induce  a  fisherman  to  harpoon 
dolphins  for  me  as  specimens,  for  no  one 
ever  kills  these  animals  voluntarily,  although 
their  fat  is  known  to  yield  an  excellent  oil 
for  lamps.  The  superstitious  people  believe 
that  blindness  would  result  from  the  use  of 
this  oil  in  lamps.  I  succeeded  at  length  with 
Oarepira,  by  offering  him  a  high  reward  when 
his  finances  were  at  a  very  low  point  ;  but 
he  repented  of  his  deed  ever  afterward,  de- 
claring that  his  luck  had  forsaken  him  from 
that  day. 

The  next  morning  we  again  beat  the  pool. 
Although  we  had  proof  of  there  being  a 

freat  number  of  turtles  yet  remaining,  we 
ad  very  poor  success.  The  old  Indians  told 
us  it  would  be  so,  for  the  turtles  were  "  la- 
dmo"  (cunning),  and  would  take  no  notice 
of  the  beating  a  second  day.  When  the  net 
was  formed  into  a  circle,  and  the  men  had 
jumped  in,  an  alligator  was  found  to  be  in- 
closed, No  one  was  alarmed,  the  only  fear 
expressed  being  that  the  imprisoned  beast 
would  tear  the  net.  First  one  shouted,  "  I 
have  touched  his  head  ;"  then  another,  "  he 
iias  scratched  my  leg."  One  of  the  men,  a 
ianky  Miranha,  was  thrown  off  his  balance, 
and  then  there  was  no  end  to  the  laughter 
and  shouting.  At  last  a  youth  of  about  four- 
teen years  of  age,  on  my  calling  to  him,  from 
the  bank,  to  do  so,  seized  the  reptile  by  the 
tail,  and  held  him  tightly  until,  a  little  resist- 
ance being  overcome,  he  was  able  to  bring 
it  aslibre  ;  the  net  was  opened,  and  the  boy 
slowly  dragged  the  dangerous  but  cowardly 
beust  to  land  through  the  muddy  water,  a 
distance  of  about  a  hundred  yards.  Mean- 
time I  had  cut  a  strong  pole  from  a  tree,  and 
as  soon  as  the  alligator  was  drawn  to  solid 
ground,  gave  him  a  smart  rap  with  it  on  the 
crown  of  his  head,  which  killed  him  instant- 
ly. It  was  a  good-sized  individual ;  the  jaws 
being  considerably  more  than  a  foot  long, 
and  fully  capable  of  snapping  a  man's  leg  in 
twain.  The  species  was  the  large  cayman, 
the  Jacare-uassu  of  the  Amazonian  Indians 
(Jacare  nigra). 

On  the  third  day  we  sent  our  men  in  the 
boats  to  net  turtles  in  a  larger  pool,  about 
five  miles  farther  down  the  river,  and  on  the 
fourth  returned  to  Ega. 


It  will  be  well  to  mention  here  a  few  cir- 
cumstances relative  to  the  large  cayman, 
which,  with  the  incident  just  narrated,  aftord 
illustrations  of  the  cunning,  cowardice,  and 
ferocity  of  this  reptile. 

I  have  hitherto  had  but  few  occasions  of 
mentioning  alligators,  although  they  exist 
by  myriads  in  the  waters  ef  the  Upper  Ama- 
zons. Many  different  species  are  spoken  of 
by  the  natives.  I  saw  only  three,  and  of 
these  two  only  are  common  :  one,  the  Jacare- 
tinga,  a  small  kind  (five  feet  long  when  full 
grown),  having  a  long  slender  muzzle,  and  a 
black-banded  tail ;  the  other,  the  Jacare- 
uassu,  to  which  these  remarks  more  especial- 
ly relate  ;  and  the  third  the  Jacare-curua, 
mentioned  in  a  former  chapter.  The  Jacare- 
uassu,  or  large  cayman,  grows  to  a  length  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  attains  an  enor- 
mous bulk.  Like  the  turtles,  the  alligator 
has  its  annual  migrations,  for  it  retreats  to 
the  interior  pools  and  flooded  forests  in  the 
wet  season,  and  descends  to  the  main  river 
in  the  dry  season.  During  the  months  of 
high  water,  therefore,  scarcely  a  single  indi- 
vidual is  to  be  seen  in  the  main  river.  In 
the  middle  part  of  the  Lower  Amazons,  about 
Obydos  and  Villa  Nova,  where  many  of  the 
lakes  with  their  channels  of  communication 
with  the  trunk  stream  dry  up  in  the  fine 
months,  the  alligator  buries  itself  in  the  mud 
and  becomes  dormant,  sleeping  till  the  rainy 
season  returns.  On  the  Upper  Amazons, 
where  the  dry  season  is  never  excessive,  it 
has  not  this  habit,  but  is  livdy  all  the  year 
round.  It  is  scarcely  exaggerating  to  say 
that  the  waters  of  the  Solimoens  are  ate  well 
stocked  with  large  alligators,  in  the  dry  sea- 
son,  as  a  ditch  in  England  is  in  summer  with 
tadpoles.  During  a  journey  of  five  days 
which  I  once  made  in  the  Upper  Amazons 
steamer,  in  November,  alligators  were  seen 
along  the  coast  almost  every  step  of  the  way, 
and  the  passengers  amused  themselves,  from 
morning  till  night,  by  firing  at  them  with 
rifle  and  ball.  They  were  very  numerous  in 
the  still  bays,  where  the  huddled  crowds 
jostled  together,  to  the  great  rattling  of  their 
coats  of  mail,  as  the  steamer  passed. 

The  natives  at  once  despise  and  fear  the 
great  cayman.  I  once  spent  a  month  at 
Caigara,  a  small  village  of  semi-civilized  In- 
dians, about  twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  Ega. 
My  entertainer,  the  only  white  in  the  place, 
and  one  of  my  best  and  most  constant 
friends,  Seiihor  Innocencio  Alves  Faria,  one 
day  proposed  a  half-day's  fishing  with  net  in 
the  lake,  the  expanded  bed  of  the  small  river 
on  which  the  village  is  situated.  We  set  out 
in  an  open  boat  with  six  Indians  and  two  of 
Innocencio's  children.  The  water  had  sunk 
so  low  that  the  net  had  to  be  taken  out  into 
the  middle  by  the  Indians,  whence  at  the  first 
draught  two  medium-sized  alligators  were 
brought  to  land.  Then  were  disengaged 
from  the  net  and  allowed,  with  the  coolest 
unconcern,  to  return  to  the  water,  although 
the  two  children  were  playing  in  it  not  many 
yards  off.  We  continued  fishing,  Innocencio 
a.nd  I  lending  a  helping  had.  and  each  time 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


741 


drew  a  number  of  the  reptiles  of  different 
ages  and  sizes,  some  of  them  Jacare-tingas  ; 
the  lake,  in  fact,  swarmed  with  alligators. 
After  taking  a  very  large  quantity  of  fish  we 
prepared  to  return,  and  the  Indians,  at  my 
suggestion,  secured  one  of  the  alligators  with 
the  view  of  letting  it  loose  among  the  swarms 
of  dogs  in  the  village.  An  individual  was 
selected  about  eight  feet  long  :  one  man  hold- 
ing his  head  and  another  Tils  tail,  while  a 
-Uhird  took  a  few  lengths  of  a  flexible  liana, 
'and  deliberately  bound  the  jaws  and  the  legs. 
"Thus  secured,  the  beast  was  laid  across  the 
"^benches  of  the  boat,  on  which  we  sat  during 
i  the  hour  and  a  half's  journey  to  the  settle- 
ment. We  were  rather  crowded,  but  our 
v  amiable  passenger  gave  us  no  trouble  during 
the  transit.  On  reaching  the  village  we  took 
the  animal  into  the  middle  of  the  green,  in 
front  of  the  church,  where  the  dogs  were 
congregated,  and  there  gave  him  his  liberty, 
two  cf  us  arming  ourselves  with  long  poles 
to  intercept  him  if  he  should  make  for  the 
water,  and  the  others  exciting  the  dogs.  The 
alligator  showed  great  terror,  although  the 
dogs  could  not  be  made  to  advance,  and  made 
off  at  the  top  of  its  speed  for  the  water,  wad- 
dling like  a  duck.  We  tried  to  keep  him 
back  wrth  the  poles,  but  he  became  enraged, 
and  seizing  the  end  of  the  one  I  held,  in  his 
jaws,  nearly  wrenched  it  from  my  grasp.  We 
were  obliged,  at  length,  to  kill  him  to  prevent 
his  escape. 

These  little  incidents  show  the  timidity  or 
cowardice  of  the  alligator.  He  never  attacks 
man  when  his  intended  victim  is  on  his 
guard  ;  but  he  is  cunning  enough  to  know 
when  this  may  be  done  with  impunity  :  of 
this  we  had  proof  at  Cai<?ara,  a  few  days 
afterward.  The  river  had  sunk  to  a  very 
low  point,  so  that  the  port  and  bathing-place 
of  the  village  now  lay  at  the  foot  of  a  long 
sloping  bank,  and  a  large  cayman  made  his 
appearance  in  the  shallow  and  muddy  water. 
We  were  all  obliged  to  be  very  careful  in 
taking  our  bath  ;  most  of  the  people  simply 
using  a  calabash,  pouring  the  water  over 
themselves  while  standing  on  the  brink.  A 
large  trading  canoe,  belonging  to  a  Barra 
merchant  named  Scares,  arrived  at  this 
time,  and  the  Indian  crew,  as  usual,  spent 
the  first  day  or  two  after  their  coming 
into  port  in  drunkenness  and  debauchery 
ashore.  One  of  the  men,  during  the 
greatest  heat  of  the  day,  when  almost 
every  one  was  enjoying  his  afternoon's  nap, 
took  it  into  his  head  while  in  a  tipsy  state  to 
go  down  alone  to  bathe.  He  was  seen  only 
by  the  Juiz  de  Paz,  a  feeble  old  man  who 
was  lying  in  his  hammock,  in  the  open  ver- 
anda at  the  rear  of  his  house  on  the  top  of 
the  bank,  and  who  shouted  to  the  besotted 
Indian  to  beware  of  the  alligator.  Before  he 
could  repeat  his  warning  the  man  stumbled, 
and  a  pair  of  gaping  jaws,  appearing  sud- 
denty  above  the  surface,  seized  him  round 
the  waist  and  drew  him  under  the  water.  A 
cry  of  agony,  "  Ai  Jesus  !"  was  the  last  sign 
usde  by  the  wretched  victim.  The  village 


was  aroused:  the  young  men  with  praise- 
worthy readiness  seized  their  harpoons  and 
hurried  down  to  the  bank  :  but  of  course  it 
was  too  late  ;  a  winding  track  of  blood  on  - 
the  surface  of  the  water  was  all  that  could  . 
be  seen.  They  embarked,  however,  in  mon- 
tarias,  determined  on  vengeance  :  the  mon- 
ster was  traced,  and  when,  after  a  short  lapse 
of  time,  he  came  up  to  breathe — one  leg  of 
the  man  sticking  out  from  his  jaws — was 
dispatched  with  bitter  curses. 

The  last  of  these  minor  excursions  which 
I  shall  narrate,  was  made  (again  In  company 
of  Senhor  Cardozo,  with  the  addition  of  his 
housekeeper,  Senhora  Felippa)  in  the  season 
when  all  the  population  of  the  villages  turns 
out  to  dig  up  turtle  eggs,  and  revel  on  the 
praias.  Placards  were  posted  on  the  church 
doors  at  Ega,  announcing  that  the  excavation, 
on  Shimuni  would  commence  on  the  17lii 
of  October,  and  on  Catua,  sixty  miles  below 
Shimuui,  on  the  25th.  We  set  out  on  the 
16th,  and  passed  on  the  road,  in  our  well- 
manned  igarite,  a  large  number  of  people, 
men,  women,  and  children,  in  canoes  of  all 
sizes,  wending  their  way  as  if  to  a  great  holi- 
day gathering.  By  the  morning  of  the  17th 
some  400  persons  were  assembled  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  sand-batik,  each  family  having 
erected  a  rude  temporary  shed  of  poles  and  . 
palm-leaves  to  protect  themselves  from  the 
sun  and  rain.  Large  copper  kettles  to  pre- 
pare the  oil,  and  hundreds  of  red  earthenware 
jars,  were  scattered  about  on  the  sand. 

The  excavation  of  the  taboleirp,  collecting 
the  eggs,  and  purifying  the  oil  occupied 
four  days.  All  was  done  on  a  system  estab- 
lished by  the  old  Portugue  e  governors, 
probably  more  than  a  century  ago.  The 
commandante  first  took  down  the  names  of 
all  the  masters  of  households,  with  the  num- 
ber of  persons  each  intended  to  employ  in 
digging  ;  he  then  exacted  a  payment  of  140 
reis  (about  f ourpence)  a  head  toward  defray- 
ing the  expense  of  sentinels.  The  whole  was 
then  allowed  to  go  to  the  taboleiro.  They 
ranged  themselves  round  the  circle,  each  per- 
son armed  with  a  paddle,  to  be  used  as  a 
spade,  and  then  all  betran  simultaneously  to 
dig  on  a  signal  being  given — the  roll  of  drums 
— by  order  of  the  commandante.  It  was  an 
animating  sight  to  behold  the  wide  circle  of 
rival  diggers  throwing  up  clouds  of  sand  in 
their  energetic  labors,  and  working  gradually 
toward  the  centre  of  the  ring.  A  little  rest 
was  taken  during  the  great  heat  of  mid -day, 
and  in  the  evening  the  eggs  were  carried  to 
the  huts  in  baskets.  By  the  end  of  the  sec- 
ond day  the  taboleiro  was  exhausted  :  large 
mounds  of  eggs,  some  of  them  four  or  five 
feet  in  height,  were  then  seen  by  the  side  of 
each  hut,  the  produce  of  the  labors  of  the 
family 

In  thn  hurry  of  digging  some  of  the  deeper 
nests  are  passed  over  ;  to  find  these  out  the 
people  go  about  provided  with  a  long  steel 
or  wooden  probe,  the  presence  of  the  eggs 
being  discoverable  by  the  ease  with  which 
the  spit  enters  the  sand.  When  no  more  eggs  • 


742 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


-are  to  be  found,  the  mashing  process  begins. 
The  egg,  it  may  be  mentioned,  has  a  flexible 
•or  leathery  shell  ;  it  is  quite  round,  and 
^somewhat  larger  than  a  hen's  egg.  The 
whole  heap  is  thrown  into  an  empty  canoe 
and  mashed  with  wooden  prongs  ;  but  some- 
times naked  Indians  and  children  jump  into 
the  mass  and  tread  it  down,  besmearing  them- 
selves with  yolk  and  making  about  as  filthy 
a  scene  as  can  well  be  imagined.  This  being 
finished,  water  is  poured  into  the  canoe,  and 
1he  fatty  mass  then  left  for  a  few  hours  to  be 
heated  by  the  sun,  on  which  the  oil  separates 
and  rises  to  the  surface.  The  floating  oil  is 
afterward  skimmed  off  with  long  spoons, 
made  by  tying  large  mussel-shells  to  the  end 
of  rods,  and  purified  over  the  fire  in  copper 
kettles. 

The  destruction  of  turtle-eggs  every  year 
by  these  proceedings  is  enormous.  At  least 
6000  jars,  holding  each  three  gallons  of  the 
•oil,  are  exported  annually  from  the  Upper 
Amazons  and  the  Madeira  to  Para,  where  it 
is  used  for  lighting,  frying  fish,  and  other 
purposes.  It  may  be  faiily  estimated  that 
3000  more  jarfuls  are  consumed  by  the  in- 
liabitants  of  the  villages  on  the  river.  Now, 
it  takes  at  least  twelve  basketfuls  of  eggs,  or 
aibout  6000,  by  the  wasteful  process  fol- 
•  lowed,  to  make  one  jar  of  oil.  The  total 
number  of  eggs  annually  destroyed  amounts, 
therefore,  to  48,000,000.  As  each  turtle  lays 
•about  120,  it  follows  that  the  yearly  offspring 
of  400,000  turtles  is  thus  annihilated.  A 
vast  number,  nevertheless,  remain  undetect- 
ed ;  and  these  would  probably  be  sufficient 
to  keep  the  turtle  population  of  these  rivers 
up  to  the  mark,  if  the  people  did  not  follow 
the  wasteful  practice  of  lying  in  wait  for  the 
newly-hatched  young,  and  collecting  them 
by  thousands  for  eating  ;  their  tender  flesh 
aind  the  remains  of  yolk  in  their  entrails 
being  considered  a  great  delicacy.  The  chief 
natural  enemies  of  the  turtle  are  vultures  and 
alligators,  which  devour  the  newly-hatched 
young  as  they  descend  in  shoals  to  the  water. 
These  must  have  destroyed  an  immensely 
.greater  number  before  the  European  settlers 
began  to  appropriate  the  eggs  than  they  do 
now.  It  is  almost  doubtful  if  that  natural 
persecution  did  not  act  as  effectively  in 
checking  the  increase  of  the  turtle  as  the 
artificial  destruction  now  does.  If  we  are  to 
believe  the  tradition  of  the  Indians,  however, 
.it  had  not  this  result ;  for  they  say  that  for- 
merly the  waters  teemed  as  thickly  with  tur- 
tles as  the  air  does  now  with  mosquitoes. 
The  universal  opinion  of  the  settlers  on  the 
Upper  Amazons  is,  that  the  turtle  has  very 
.greatly  decreased  in  numbers,  and  is  still  an- 
nually decreasing. 

We  left  Shimuni  on  the  20th,  with  quite  a 
flotilla  of  canoes,  and  descended  the  river  to 
Catua,  an  eleven  hours'  journey  by  paddle 
and  current.  Catua  is  about  six  miles  long, 
and  almost  entirely  encircled  by  its  praia. 
The  turtles  had  selected  for  their  egg-laying 
a  part  of  the  sand-bank  which  was  elevated 
at  least  twenty  feet  above  the  present  kv^i 


of  the  river  ;  the  animals,  to  reach  the  place, 
must  have  crawled  up  a  slope.  As  we  ap- 
proached the  island,  numbers  of  the  animals 
were  seen  coming  to  the  surface  to  breathe, 
in  a  small  shoaly  bay.  Those  who  had  light 
montarias  sped  forward  with  bows  and 
arrows  to  shoot  them.  Carepira  was  fore- 
most, having  borrowed  a  small  and  very  un- 
steady boat  of  Cardozo,  and  embarked  in  it 
with  his  little  son.  After  bagging  a  couple 
of  turtles,  and  while  hauling  ia  a  third,  he 
overbalanced  himself  ;  the  canoe  went  over, 
and  he  with  his  child  had  to  swim  for  their 
lives,  in  the  midst  of  numerous  alligators, 
about  a  mile  from  the  laud.  The  old  man 
had  to  sustain  a  heavy  fire  of  jokes  from  his 
companions  for  several  days  after  this  mis- 
hap. Such  accidents  are  only  laughed  at  by 
these  almost  amphibious  people. 

The  number  of  persons  congregated  on 
Catua  was  much  greater  than  on  Shimuni,  as 
the  population  of  the  banks  of  several  neigh- 
boring lakes  was  here  added.  The  line  of 
huts  and  sheds  extended  half  a  mile,  and 
several  large  sailing  vessels  were  anchored  at 
the  place.  The  commandante  was  Senhor 
Macedo,  the  very  worthy  Indian  blacksmith 
of  Ega,  who  maintained  excellent  order  dur- 
ing the  fourteen  days  the  process  of  excava- 
tion and  oil  manufacture  lasted.  There  were 
also  many  primitive  Indians  here  from  the 
neighboring  rivers,  among  them  a  family  of 
Shumanas,  good-tempered,  harmless  people 
from  the  Lower  Japura.  All  of  them  were 
tattooed  round  the  mouth,  the  bluish  tint 
forming  a  border  to  the  lips,  and  extending 
in  a  line  on  the  cheeks  toward  the  ear  on 
each  side.  They  were  not  quite  so  slender 
in  figure  as  the  Passes  of  Pedro-uassu's 
family  ;  but  their  features  deviated  quite  as 
much  as  those  of  the  Passes  from  the  ordi- 
nary Indian  type.  This  was  seen  chiefly  iu 
the  comparatively  small  mouth,  pointed  chin, 
thin  lips,  and  narrow,  high  nose.  One  of 
the  daughters,  a  young  girl  of  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  was  a  real  beauty.  The 
color  of  her  skin  approached  the  light  tanned 
shade  of  the  Mameluco  women  ;  her  figure 
was  almost  faultless,  and  the  blue  mouth,  in- 
stead of  being  a  disfigurement,  gave  quite  a 
captivating  finish  to  her  appearance.  Her 
neck,  wrists,  and  ankles  were  adorned  with 
strings  of  blue  beads.  She  was,  however, 
extremely  bashful,  never  venturing  to  look 
strangers  in  the  face,  and  never  quitting,  for 
many  minutes  together,  the  side  of  her  father 
and  mother.  The  family  had  been  shame* 
fully  swindled  by  some  rascally  trader  on 
another  praia  ;  and,  on  our  arrival,  came  to 
lay  their  case  before  Senhor  Cardozo,  as  the 
delegado  of  police  of  the  district.  The  mild 
way  in  which  the  old  man.  without  a  trace 
of  auger,  stated  his  complaint  in  imperfect 
Tupi,  quite  enlisted  our  sympathies  in  hia 
favor.  But  Cardozo  could  give  him  no  re- 
dress ;  he  invited  the  family,  however,  to 
make  their  rancho  near  to  ours,  and  in  the 
end  gave  them  the  highest  price  for  the  sur- 
plus oil  which  they  manufactured. 

It  was  not  all  work  at  Catua  ;  indeed  there 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    TrIE  .ilVEP  AMAZONS. 


was  ratner  more  play  than  work  goinir  on.( 
The  people  make  a  kind  of  holiday  of  .hese 
occasions.     Every  fine  night  parties  cf  the 
younger  people  assembled  on  the  sands,  and 
dancing  and  games  were  carriea  on  for  hours 
together.     But  the  requisite    liveliness  for 
these  sports  was  never  got  up  without  a  good 
deal  of  preliminary  rum-drink  ing.     The  girls 
were  so  coy  that  the  young  men  could  not 
get  sufficient  partners  for  the  dances,  with- 
out first  subscribing  for  a  few  flagons  cf  the 
needful  cashacja.     The  coldness  of  the  shy 
Indian  and  Mameluco  maidens  never  failed 
to  give  way  after  a  little  of  this  strong  drink, 
but  it  was  astonishing  what  an  immense  deal 
they  could  take  of  it  in  the  course  of  an  even- 
ing.    Coyness  is  not  always  a  sign  of  inno- 
cence in  these  people,  for  most  of  the  half- 
caste  women  on  the  tipper  Amazons  lead  a 
little  career  of  looseness  before  they  marry 
and  settle  down  for  life  ;  and  it  is  rather  re- 
markable that  the  men  do  not  seem  to  object 
much  to  their  brides  having  had  a  child  or 
two  by  various  fathers  before  marriage.   The 
women  do  not  lose  reputation  unless  they  be- 
come utterly  depraved,  but  in  that  case  they 
are  condemned  pretty  strongly    by    public 
opinion.     Depravity  is,  however,  rare,  for  all 
require  more  or  less  to  be  wooed  before  they 
are  won.     I  did  not  see  (althougii  I  mixed 
pretty  freely  with    the  young  people)  any 
breach  of  propriety  on  the    praias.      The 
merry-makings  were  carried    on    near  the 
ranchos,  where  the  more  staid  citizens  of 
Ega,  husbands  with  their  wives  and  young 
daughters,  all  smoking  gravely  out  of  long 
pipes,  sat  in  their  hammocks  and  enjoyed  the 
fun.     Toward  midnight  we  often  heard,  in 
the  intervals   between  jokes  and  laughter, 
the  hoarse  roar  of  jaguars  prowling  about  the 
jungle  in  the  middle  of  the  praia.     There 
were  several  guitar-players  among  the  young 
men,  and  one  most  persevering  fiddler,  so 
there  was  no  lack  of  music. 

The  favorite  sport  was  the  Pira-purasseya, 
or  fish  dance,  one  of  the  original  games  of 
the  Indians,  though  now  probably  a  little 
modified.  The  young  men  and  women,  sin- 
gling together,  formed  a  ring,  leaving  one  of 
their  number  in  the  middle,  who  represented 
the  fish.  They  then  all  marched  round,  In- 
dian tile,  the  musicians  mixed  up  with  the 
rest,  singing  a  monotonous  but  rather  pretty 
chorus,  the  \\ords  of  which  were  invented 
(under  a  certain  form)  by  one  of  the  party 
who  acted  as  leader.  This  finished,  all  joined 
hands,  and  questions  were  put  to  the  one  in 
the  middle,  asking  what  kind  of  fish  he  or 
she  might  be.  To  these  the  individual  has 
to  reply.  The  end  of  it  all  is  that  he  makes 
a  rush  at  the  ring,  and  if  he  succeeds  iu  es- 
caping, the  person  who  allowed  him  to  do  so 
has  to  take  his  place  ;  the  march  and  chorus 
then  lecommence,  and  so  the  game  goes  on 
hour  after  hour.  Tupi  was  the  language 
mostly  used  but  sometimes  Portuguese  was 
sung  and  spoken.  The  details  of  the  dance 
were  often  varied.  Instead  of  the  namts  of 
fishes  being  culled  over  by  the  person  in  th 
middle,  the  name  of  some  animal.  Uwwer,  or. 


other  object  was  given  to  every  fresh  occu- 
pier of  the  place.  There  was  then  good  scope 
for  wit  in  the  invention  of  nicknames,  and 
peals  of  laughter  would  often  salute  some 
particularly  good  hit.  Thus  a  very  lanky 
young  man  was  called  the  Magoary,  or  the- 
gray  stork  ;  a  moist,  gray-eyed  man,  with  a, 
profile  comically  suggestive  of  a  fish,  was 
christened  Jaraki  (a  kind  of  fish),  which  was 
considered  quite  a  witty  sally  ;  a  little  Mame- 
luco girl,  with  light-colored  eyes  and  brown 
hair,  got  the  gallant  name  of  Rosa  branca, 
or  the  white  rose  ;  a  young  fellow  who  had 
recentlv  singed  his  eyebrows  by  the  explo- 
sion of  fireworks  was  dubbed  Pedro  queima- 
dp  (burnt  Peter) ;  in  short,  every  one  got  a. 
nickname,  and  each  time  the  cognomen  was 
introduced  into  tb  .horus  as  the  circle- 
marched  round 

Our  rancho  waa  a  large,  one,  and  was 
erected  in  a  line  with  the  others,  near  the 
edge  of  the  sand-bank  which  sloped  rather 
abruptly  to  the  water.  During  the  first- 
week  the  people  were  all,  more  o;  less, 
troubled  by  alligators.  Some  half-dozen  full- 
grown  ones  were  in  attendance  off  the  praia, 
floating  about  on  the  lazily  flowing  muddy 
water.  The  diyness  of  the  weather  had  in 
creased  since  we  had  left  Slwmuni,  the  cur- 
rents had  slackened,  and  the  heat  in  the  mid- 
dle part  of  the  day  was  almost  insupportable. 
But  no  one  could  descend  to  bathe  without 
being  advanced  upon  by  one  or  other  of  these 
hungry  monsters.  There  was  much  offal  cast . 
into  the  river,  and  this  of  course  attracted 
them  to  the  place.  One  day  1  amused  my- 
self by  taking  a  basketful  of  fragments  of 
meat  beyond  the  line  of  ranchos,  and  draw- 
ing the  alligators  toward  me  by  feeding: 
them.  They  behaved  pretty  much  as  dogs- 
do  when  fed  ;  catching  the  bones  I  threw 
them  in  their  huge  jaws,  and  coming  nearer 
and  showing  increased  eagerness  after  every 
morsel.  The  enormous  gape  of  their  mouths, 
with  their  blood-red  lining  and  long  fringes.- 
of  teeth,  and  the  uncouth  shapes  of  their- 
bodies,  made  a  picture  of  unsurpassable  ugli- 
ness. I  once  or  twice  fired  a  heavy  charge 
of  shot  at  them,  aiming  at  the  vulnerable 
part  of  their  bodies,  which  is  a  small  space 
situated  behind  the  eyes,  but  this  had  no 
other  effect  than  to  make  them  give  a  hoarse 
grunt  and  shake  themselves  ;  they  imme 
-diately  afterward  turned  to  receive  another 
bone  which  I  threw  to  them. 

Every  day  these  visitors  became  bolder  ;  at 
length  they  reached  a  pitch  of  impudence 
that  was  quite  intolerable.  Cardozo  had  a 
poodle  dog  named  Carlito,  which  some  grate- 
ful -traveller  whom  he  had  befriended  had 
sent  him  from  Rio  Janeiro.  He  took  great 
pride  in  this  dog,  keeping  it  well  sheared, 
and  preserving  his  coat  as  white  aft  soap  and 
water  could  make  it.  We  slept  iu  our  rancho 
in  hammocks  slung  between  the  outer  posts  ; 
a  large  wood  fire  (fed  with  a  kind  of  wood 
abundant  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  which 
keeps  alight  all  night)  being  made  in  the 
middle,  by  the  side  of  which  slept  Ca? lLo  on 
.a  little  mat.  MrHl,  one  night  I  was  awoke 


'744 


THE  NATURALIST  ON     THE  KIVER  AMAZONS. 


by  a  great  uproar.  It  was  caused  by  Car- 
dozo  hulling  burning  firewood  with  loud 
curses  at  a  huge  cayman  which  had  crawled 
up  the  bank  and  passed  beneath  my  ham- 
mock (being  nearest  the  water)  toward  the 
place  where  Carlito  lay.  The  dog  had  raised 
the  alarm  in  time;  the  reptile  backed  out 
and  tumbled  down  the  bank  to  the  water,  the 
sparks  from  the  brands  hurled  at  himflying 
from  his  bony  hide.  To  our  great  surprise 
the  animal  (we  supposed  it  to  be  the  same 
individual)  repeated  his  visit  the  very  next 
night,  this  time  passing  round  to  the  other 
side  of  our  shed.  Carciozo  was  awake,  and 
threw  a  harpoon  at  him,  but  without  doing 
him  any  harm.  After  this  it  was  thought 
necessary  to  make  an  effort  to  check  the  alli- 
gators ;  a  number  of  men  were  therefore  per- 
suaded to  sally  forth  in  their  montarias  and 
devote  a  day  to  killing  them. 

The  young  men  made  several  hunting  ex- 
cursions during  the  fourteen  days  of  our  stay 
on  Catua,  and  I,  being  associated  with  them 
in  all  their  pleasures,  made  generally  one  of 
the  party.  These  were,  besides,  the  sole  occa- 
sions on  which  I  could  add  to  my  col  lections, 
while  on  these  barren  sands.  Only  two  of 
these  trips  afforded  incidents  worth  relating. 
The  first,  which  was  made  to  the  interior 
of  the  wooded  island  of  Catua,  was  not  a 
very  successful  one.  We  were  twelve  in 
number,  all  armed  with  guns  and  long  hunt- 
ing knives.  Long  before  sunrise  my  friends 
woke  me  up  from  my  hammock,  where  I 
lay,  as  usual,  in  the  clothes  worn  during  the 
day  ;  and  after  taking  each  a  cupful  of 
cashaca  and  ginger  (a  very  general  practice 
in  early  morning  on  the  sand-banks),  we 
commenced  our  walk.  The  waning  moon 
still  lingered  in  the  clear  sky,  and  a  profound 
stillness  pervaded  sleeping  camp,  forest,  and 
stream.  Along  the  line  of  ranchos  glim- 
mered the  fires  made  by  each  party  to  dry 
turtle-eggs  for  food,  the  eggs  being  spread  on 
little  wooden  stages  over  the  smoke.  The 
distance  to  the  forest  from  our  place  of  start- 
ing was  about  two  miles,  being  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  the  sand-back,  which  was 
also  a  very  broad  one  ;  the  highest  part, 
where  it  was  covered  with  a  thicket  of  dwarf 
willows,  mimosas,  and  arrow-grass,  lying 
near  the  ranchos.  We  loitered  much  on  the 
•way,  and  the  day  dawned  while  we  were  yet 
on  the  road,  the  sand  at  this  early  hour  feel- 
ing quite  cold  to  the  naked  feet.  As  soon  as 
we  were  able  to  distinguish  things,  the  sur- 
face of  the  praia  was  «een  to  be  dotted  with 
small  black  objects.  These  were  newly- 
hatched  Aiyussa  turtles,  which  were  making 
their  way  in  an  undeviating  line  to  the  water, 
at  least  a  mile  distant.  The  young  animal 
of  this  species  is  distinguishable  ftom  that  of 
the  large  turtle  and  the  Tracaja  by  the  edges 
of  the  breastplate  being  raised  on  each  side, 
.  so  that  in  crawling  it  scores  two  parallel  lines 
on  the  sand.  The  mouths  of  these  little  creat- 
ures were  full  of  sand,  a  circumstance  aris- 
ing from  their  having  to  bite  their  way 
through  many  inches  of  superincumbent 
sand,  to  reach  the  surface  on  emerging  from 


the  buried  eggs.  It  was  amusing  to  observe 
how  constantly  they  turned  again  in  the 
direction  of  the  distant  river,  after  being 
handled  and  set  down  on  the  sand  with  their 
heads  facing  the  opposite  quarter.  We  saw 
also  several  skeletons  of  the  large  cayman 
(some  with  the  horny  and  bony  hide  of  the 
animal  nearly  perfect)  imbedded  in  the  sand  : 
they  reminded  me  of  the  remains  of  Ichthyo- 
sauri fossilized  in  beds  of  lias,  with  tlie  dif- 
ference of  being  buried  in  fine  sand  instead 
of  in  blue  mud.  I  marked  Hie  place  of  one 
which  had  a  well-preserved  skull,  and  the 
next  day  returned  to  secure  it.  The  speci- 
men is  now  in  the  British  Museum  collection. 
•  There  were  also  many  footmarks  of  jaguars 
on  the  sand. 

We  entered  the  forest  as  the  sun  peeped 
over  the  tree-tops  far  away  down  the  river. 
The  party  soon  after  divided,  I  keeping 
with  a  section  which  was  led  by  Bento,  the 
Ega  carpenter,  a  capital  woodsman.  After  a 
short  walk  we  struck  the  banks  of  a  beauti- 
ful little  lake,  having  grassy  margins  and 
clear  dark  water,  on  the  surface  of  which 
floated  thick  beds  of  water-lilies.  We  then 
crossed  a  muddy  creek  or  water-course  that 
entered  the  lake,  and  then  found  ourselves 
on  a  restinga,  or  tongue  of  laud  between  two 
waters.  By  keeping  in  sight  of  one  or  the 
.other  of  these  there  was  no  danger  of  our 
losing  our  way  ;  all  other  precautions  were 
therefore  unnecessary.  The  forest  was 
tolerably  clear  of  underwood,  and  conse- 
quently easy  to  walk  through.  We  had  not 
gone  far  before  a  soft,  long-drawn  whistle 
was  heard  aloft  in  the  trees,  betraying  the 
presence  of  Muturns  (Curassow  birds).  Tne 
-crowns  of  the  trees,  a  hundred  feet  or  more 
over  our  heads,  were  so  closely  interwoven 
that  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish  the  birds  ; 
the  practised  eye  of  Bento,  however,  made 
them  out,  and  a  fine  male  was  shot  from  the 
flock,  the  rest  flying  away  and  alighting  at 
no  great  distance  ;  the  species  was  the  one  of 
which  the  male  has  a  round  red  ball  on  its 
beak  (Crax  globicera).  The  pursuit  of  the 
others  led  us  a  great  distance,  straight  toward 
the  interior  of  the  island,  in  which  direction 
we  marched  for  three  hours,  having  the  lake 
always  on  our  right. 

Arriving  at  length  at  the  nead  of  the  lake, 
Bento  struck  off  to  the  left  across  the  restinga, 
and  we  then  soon  came  upon  a  treeless  space 
choked  up  with  tall  grass,  which  appeared  to 
be  the  dried-up  bed  of  another  Jake.  Our 
leader  was  obliged  to  climb  a  tree  to  ascertain 
our  position,  and  found  that  the  clear  space 
was  part  of  the  creek,  whose  mouth  we  hud 
crossed  lower  down.  The  banks  were 
clothed  with  low  trees,  nearly  all  of  one  spe- 
cies, a  kind  of  araca  (Psidium),  and  the 
ground  was  carpeted  with  a  slender  delicate 
grass,  now  in  flower.  A  great  number  of 
crimson  and  vermilion  colored  butterflies 
(Cattagramma  Peristera,  male  and  female) 
were  settled  on  the  smooth  white  trunks  of 
these  trees.  I  had  also  here  the  great  pleas- 
ure of  seeing  for  the  first  time  the  rare  and 
nurious  Umbrella  Bird  (Cephalopterus  orna- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


74* 


tus),  a  species  which  resembles  in  size,  color, 
and  appearance  our  common  crow,  but  is 
decorated  with  a  crest  of  long  curved  hairy 
feathers,  having  long  bare  quills,  which, 
when  raised,  spread  themselves  out  in  the 
form  of  a  fringed  sunshade  over  the  head. 
A  strange  ornament,  like  a  pelerine,  is  also 
suspended  from  the  neck,  formed  by  a  thick 
pad  of  glossy  steel-blue  feathers,  which  grow 
on  a  long  fleshy  lobe  or  excrescence.  This 
lobe  is  connected  (as  I  found  on  skinning 
specimens)  with  an  unusual  development  of 
the  trachea  and  vocal  organs,  to  which  the 
bird  doubtless  owes  its  singularly  deep,  loud, 
and  long-sustained  fluty  note.  The  Indian 
name  of  this  strange  creature  is  Uira-mim- 
beu,  or  fife-bird,  in  allusion  to  the  tone  of 
its  voice.  We  had  the  good  luck,  after  re- 
maining quiet  a  short  time,  to  hear  its  per, 
formance.  It  drew  itself  up  on  its  perch, 
spread  widely  the  umbrella-formed  crest, 
dilated  and  waved  its  glossy  breast-lappet, 
and  then,  in  giving  vent  to  its  loud  piping 
note,  bowed  its  head  slowly  forward.  We 
obtained  a  pair,  male  and  female  :  tue  female 
has  only  the  rudiments  of  the  crest  and  lap- 
pet, and  is  duller  colored  altogether  than  the 
male.  The  range  of  this  bird  appeals  to  be 
quite  confined  to  the  plains  ^of  the  Upper 
Amazons  (especially  the  Ygapo  forests),  not 
having  been  found  to  the  east  of  the  Rio 
Negro. 

Ben  to  and  our  other  friends,  being  disap- 
pointed in  finding  no  more  Curassows,  or  in- 
deed any  other  species  of  game,  now  resolved 
to  turn  back.  On  reaching  the  edge  of  the 
forest  we  sat  down  and  ate  our  dinners  under 
the  shade,  each  man  having  brought  a  little 
bag  containing  a  few  handfuls  of  fariuha, 
and  a,piece  of  fried  fish  or  roast  turtle.  We 
expected  our  companions  of  the  other  divi- 
sion to  join  us  at  mid-day,  but  after  waiting 
till  past  one  o'clock,  without  seeing  anything 
of  them  (in  fact,  they  had  returned  to  the 
huts  an  hour  or  two  previously),  we  struck 
off  across  the  praia  toward  the  encampment. 
An  obstacle  here  presented  itself  on  which 
we  had  not  counted.  The  sun  had  shone  all 
day  through  a  cloudless  sky  untempered  by 
a  tireath  of  wind,  and  the  sands  had  become 
heated  by  it  to  a  degree  that  rendered  walk- 
ing over  them  with  our  bare  feet  impossible. 
The  most  hardened  footsoles  of  the  party 
could  not  endure  the  burning  soil.  We  made 
several  attempts  ;  we  tried  tunning  ;  wrapped 
the  cool  leaves  of  Heliconiae  round  our  feet, 
but  in  no  way  could  we  step  forward  many 
yards.  There  was  no  means  of  getting  back 
to  our  friends  before  night,  except  going 
round  the  praia,  a  circuit  of  about  four 
miles,  and  walking  through  the  water  or  on 
the  moist  sand.  To  get  to  the  water-side 
from  the  place  where  we  then  stood  was  not 
difficult,  as  &  thick  bed  of  a  flowering  shrub, 
called  tintarana,  an  infusion  of  the  leaves  of 
which  is  used  to  dye  black,  lay  on  that  side 
of  the  sand-bank  Footsore  and  wearied, 
burdened  with  our  guns,  and  walking  for 
miles  through  the  tepid  shallow  watei  under 
the  brain- scorching  veitical  sun.  we  had,  as 


may  be  imagined,  anything  but  a  pleasant 
time  of  it.  I  did  not,  however,  feel  any  in- 
convenience afterward.  Every  one  enjoys 
the  most  lusty  health  while  living  this  free: 
and  wild  life  on  the  rivers. 

The  ether  hunting  trip  which  I  have  al- 
luded to  was  undertaken  in  company  witli 
three  friendly  young  half-castes.  Two  of 
them  were  brothers,  namely  JoaO  (John)  and 
Zephj'rino- Jabuti ;  Jabuti,  or  tortoise,  being 
a  nickname  which  their  father  had  earned 
for  his  slow  gait,  and  which,  as  is  usual  in 
this  country,  had  descended  as  the  surname, 
of  the  family.  The  other  was  Jose  FrazaO, 
a  nephew  of  Senhor  Chrysostomo,  of  £ga, 
an  active,  clever,  and  manly  young  fellow, 
whom  I  much  esteemed.  He  was  almost  a 
white,  his  father  being  a  Portuguese  and  hia 
mother  a  Mameluco.  We  were  accompanied 
by  an  Indian  named  Lino,  and  a  mulatto 
boy,  whose  office  was  to  carry  our  game. 

Our  proposed  hunting-ground  on  this  occa- 
sion lay  across  the  water,  about  fifteen  miles 
distant.  We  set  out  in  a  small  mpntaria,  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  again  leaving 
the  encampment  asleep,  and  travelled  at  a 
good  pace  up  the  northern  channel  of  the 
Solimoens,  or  that  lying  between  the  island 
of  Catua  and  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  The 
northern  shore  of  the  island  had  a  broad 
sandy  beach  reaching  to  its  western  ex- 
tremity. We  gained  our  destination  a  little 
after  daybreak  •  this  was  the  banks  of  the 
Carapanatuba,*  a  channel  some  150  yards  in 
width,  which,  like  the  Anana,  already  men- 
tioned, communicates  with  the  Cupijo.  To 
reach  this  we  had  to  cross  the  river,  here* 
nearly  two  miles  wide.  Just  as  the  day 
dawned  we  saw  a  cayman  seize  a  laige  fish, 
a  Tambaki,  near  the  surface  ;  the  reptile 
seemed  to  have  a  difficulty  in  securing  its  p  °y, 
for  it  reared  itself  above  the  water,  tossing 
the  fish  in  its  jaws,  and  making  a  tremendous 
commotion.  I  was  much  struck  also  by  the 
singular  appearance  presented  by  certain  div 
ing  birds  having  very  long  and  snaky  necki* 
(the  Plotus  Anhinga).  Occasionally  a  long 
serpentine  form  would  suddenly  wriggle  it- 
self to  a  height  of  a  foot  and  a  half  above  the 
glassy  surface  of  the  water,  producing  such 
a  deceptive  imitation  of  a  snake  that  at  first 
I  had  some  difficulty  in  believing  it  to  be  the 
neck  of  a  bird  ;  it  did  not  remain  long  in 
view,  but  soon  plunged  again  beneath  the 
stream. 

We  ran  ashore  in  a  most  lonely  and  gloomy 
place,  on  a  low  sand-bank  covered  willi 
bushes,  secured  the  montaria  to  a  tree,  anil 
then,  :  fter  making  a  very  sparing  breakfast 
on  fried  fish  and  mandioca  meal,  roller!  up 
our  trousers  and  plunged  into  the  thick  for- 
est, which  here,  as  everywhere  else,  rose  lika 
a  lofty  wall  of  foliage  from  the  narrow  strip 
of  beach.  We  made  straight  for  the  heart 
of  the  land,  John  Jabuti  leading,  and  break- 
ing off  at  every  few  steps  a  branch  of  the 


*  Meaning  in  Tupf,  the  river  of  many  mosquitoes 
from  carapaua,  inusquiio,  and  ituba,  many. 


THE  XATUHALI5T   OS    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


lower  trees,  so  that  we  might  recognize  the 
path  on  our  return.  The  district  was  quite 
new  to  all  my  companions,  and  being  on  a 
<joast  almost  totally  uninhabited  by  human 
beings  for  some  300  miles,  to  lose  our  way 
would  have  beeen  to  perish  helplessly.  I  did 
not  think  at  the  time  of  the  risk  we  ran  of 
having  otir  canoe  stolen  by  passing  Indians, 
unguarded  montarias  bein^  never  safe  even 
in  the  ports  of  the  villages,  Indians  appar- 
ently considering  them  common  property, 
and  stealing  them  without  any  compunction. 
Jtfo  misgivings  clouded  the  lightness  of  heart 
with  which  we  trod  forward  in  warm  antici- 
pation of  a  good  day's  sport. 

The  tract  of  forest  through  which  we 
passed  was  Ygapo,  but  the  higher  parts  of 
the  land  formed  areas  which  went  'only  a 
very  few  inches  under  water  in  the  flood  sea- 
son. It  consisted  of  a  most  bewildering 
diversity  of  grand  and  beautiful  trees, 
draped,  festooned,  corded,  matted,  and  rib- 
boned with  climbing  plants,  woody  and  suc- 
culent, in  endless  variety.  The  most  preva- 
lent palm  was  the  tall  Astryocaryuni  Jauari, 
whose  fallen  spines  made  it  necessary  to  pick 
our  way  carefully  over  the  ground,  as  we 
were  all  barefoot.  There  was  not  much 
^green  underwood,  except  in  places  where 
bamboos  grew  ;  these  formed  impenetrable 
thickets  of  plumy  foliage  and  thorny  jointed 
stems,  which  always  compelled  us  to  make 
a  circuit  to  avoid  them.  The  earth  else- 
where was  incuiabered  with  rotting  fruits, 
gigantic  bean-pods,  leaves,  limbs,  and  trunks 
of  trees,  fixing  the  impression  of  its  being 
the  cemetery  as  well  as  the  birthplace  of  the 
great  world  of  vegetation  overhead.  Some 
of  the  trees  were  of  prodigious  height.  We 
passed  many  specimens  of  the  Moiatin^a, 
whose  cylindrical  trunks,  I  dare  not  say  how 
many  feet  in  circumference,  towered  up  and 
were  lost  amid  the  crowns  of  the  lower  trees, 
their  lower  branches,  in  some  cases,  being 
hidden  from  our  view.  Another  very  large 
and  remarkable  tree  was  the  Assacu  (sapium. 
aucuharium).  A  traveller  on  the  Amazons, 
mingling  with  the  people,  is  sure  to  hear 
much  of  the  poisonous  qualities  of  the  juices 
of  this  tree.  Its  bark  exudes,  when  hacked 
with  a  knife,  a  milky  sap,  which  is  not  only 
a  fatal  poison  when  taken  internally,  but  is 
said  to  cause  incurable  sores  if  simply  sprin- 
kled on  the  skin.  My  companions  always 
gave  the  Assacu  a  wide  berth  when  we 
passed  one.  The  tree  looks  ugly  enough  to 
merit  a  bad  name,  for  the  bark  is  of  a  dingy 
olive  color,  and  is  studded  with  short  and 
sharp  venomous-looking  spines. 

After  walking  about  half  a  mile  we  came 
-  upon  a  dry  water-course,  where  we  observed, 
first,  the  old  footmarks  of  a  tapir,  and, 
soon  after,  on  the  margin  of  a  curious  circu^ 
Jar  hole  full  of  muddy  water,  the  fresh  tracks 
of  a  jaguar.  This  latter  discovery  was 
hardly  made  when  a  rush  was  heard  amid 
the  bushes  on  the  top  of  a  sloping  bank  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  dried  creek.  We 
Abounded  forward  ;  it  was,  however,  too  late, 
3for  the  animal  had  sped  in  a  few  minutes  fgr 


out  of  our  reach.  It  was  clear  wo  had  dis- 
turbed, on  our  approach,  the  jaguar,  wh.le 
quenching  his  thirst  at  the  water-hole.  A 
few  steps  farther  on  we  saw  the  mangled  re- 
mains of  an  alligator  (the  Jacaretinga).  The 
head,  forequarters,  and  bony  shell  were  the 
only  parts  which  remained  ;  but  the  meat 
was  quite  fresh,  and  there  were  many  foot- 
marks of  the  jaguar  around  the  carcass  ;  so 
that  there  was  no  doubt  this  had  formed  the 
solid  part  of  the  animal's  breakfast.  My 
companions  now  began  to  search  for  the  alli- 
gator's nest,  the  presence  of  the  reptile  so  far 
from  the  river  being  accountable  for  on  na 
other  ground  than  its  mnterual  solicitude  for 
its  eggs.  We  found,  in  fact,  the  nest  at  tho 
distance  of  a  few  yards  from  the  place.  It 
was  a  conical  pile  of  dead  leaves,  in  the  mi<l- 
dle  of  which  twenty  eggs  were  buried. 
These  were  of  elliptical  shape,  considerably 
larger  than  those  of  a  duck,  and  having  a 
hard  shell  of  the  texture  of  porcelain,  but 
very  rough  on  the  outside.  They  make  a 
loud  sound  when  rubbed  together,  and  it  is 
said  that  it  is  easy  to  find  a  mother  alligator 
in  the  Ygapo  forests  by  rubbing  together  two 
eggs  in  this  way,  she  being  never  far  off,  and 
attracted  by  the  sounds. 

I  put  half  a  do/en  of  the  alligator's  eggs  in 
my  game-bag  for  specimens,  and  we  then 
continued  on  our  way.  Lino,  who  was  now 
first,  presently  mude  a  start  backward,  call- 
ing out  "  Jararaca  !"  This  is  the  name  of  a 
poisonous  snake  (genus  Craspedocephalus), 
which  is  far  more  dreaded  by  the  natives 
than  jaguar  or  alligator.  The  individual 
seen  by  Lino  lay  coiled  up  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree,  and  was  scarcely  distinguishable,  on 
account  of  the  colors  of  its  body  being  as- 
similated to  those  of  the  fallen  leaves.  Its 
.hideous  flat  triangular  head,  connected  with 
;the  body  by  a  thin  neck,  was  reared  and 
turned  toward  us:  Frazao  killed  it  with  a 
charge  of  shot,  shattering  it  completely,  and 
destroying,  to  my  regret,  its  value  as  a  speci- 
men. In  conversing  on  the  subject  of  Jara- 
racas  as  we  walked  onward,  every  one  of  the 
party  was  ready  to  swear  that  this  snake  at- 
tacks man  without  provocation,  leaping  tow- 
ard him  from  a  considerable  distance  when 
he  approaches.  I  met,  in  the  course  of  my 
daily  rambles  in  the  woods,  many  Jaraiacas, 
and  once  or  twice  very  narrowly  escaped 
treading  on  them,  but  never  saw  them  at- 
tempt to  spring.  On  some  subjects  the  Us- 
timony  of  the  natives  of  a  wild  country  U 
utterly  worthless.  The  bite  of  the  Jararaca 
is  generally  fatal.  I  knew  of  four  ot  five  in- 
stances of  death  from  it,  and  oily  of  one 
clear  case  of  recovery  after  being  bitten  ; 
but  in  that  case  the  person  was  lamed  for 
life. 

We  walked  over  moderately  elevated  and 
dry  ground  for  about  a  mile,  and  then  de- 
scended (three  or  four  feet  only)  to  the  dry 
bed  of  another  creek.  This  was  pierced  in 
the  same  way  as  the  former  water-course,  with 
round  holes  full  of  muddy  water.  Thry  oc- 
curred at  intervals  of  a  few  yards,  and  had 
the  appearance  of  having  been  made  by  tha 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


747 


hand  of  man.  The  smallest  were  about  two 
feet,  the  largest  seven  or  eight  feet  in  diame- 
ter. As  we  approached  the  most  extensive  of 
the  larger  ones,  I  was  startled  at  seeing  a 
number  of  large  serpent-like  heads  bobbing 
above  the  surface.  They  proved  to  be  those 
of  electric  eels,  and  it  now  occurred  to  me 
that  the  round  boles  were  made  by  these 
animals  working  constantly  round  and  round 
in  the  moist  muddy  soil.  Their  depth  (some 
of  them  were  at  least  eight  feet  deep)  was 
doubtless  due  also  to  the  movements  of  the 
eels  in  the  soft  soil,  and  accounted  for  their 
not  drying  up,  in  the  fine  season,  with  the 
rest  of  the  creek.  Thus,  while  alligators  and 
turtles  in  this  great  inundated  forest  region 
4  retire  to  the  larger  pools  during  the  dry  sea- 
son, the  electric  eels  make  for  themselves  lit- 
tle ponds  in  which  to  pass  the  season  of 
drought. 

My  companions  now  cut  each  a  stout  pole, 
and  proceeded  to  eject  the  eels  in  order  to 
get  at  the  other  fishes,  with  which  they  had 
discovered  the  ponds  to  abound.  I  amused 
them  all  very  much  by  showing  how  the 
electric  shock  from  the  eels  could  pass  from 
one  person  to  another.  We  joined  hands  in 
a  line  while  I  touched  the  biggest  and  fresh- 
est of  the  animals  on  the  head  with  the  point 
•  of  my  hunting-knife.  We  found  that  this 
experiment  did  not  succeed  more  than  three 
times  with  the  same  eel  when  out  of  the 
water  ;  for  the  fourth  time  the  shock  was 
Scarcely  perceptible.  All  the  fishes  found  in 
!he  holes  (besides  the  eels)  belonged  to  one 
species,  a  small  kind  of  Acari,  or  Loricaria, 
a  group  whose  members  have  a  complete 
bony  integument.  Lino  and  the  boy  strung 
them  together  through  the  gills  with  slender 
sipos,  and  hung  them  on  the  trees  to  await 
our  return  later  in  the  day. 

Leaving  the  bed  of  the  creek,  we  marched 
•onward,  always  toward  the  centre  of  the 
land,  guided  by  the  sun,  which  now  glim- 
mered through  the  thick  foliage  overhead. 
About  eleven  o'clock  we  saw  a  break  in  the 
forest  before  us,  and  presently  emerged  on 
the  banks  of  a  rather  large  sheet  of  water. 
This  was  one  of  the  interior  pools  of  which 
there  are  so  many  in  this  distric  t.  The  mar- 
.gins  were  elevated  some  few  feet,  and  sloped 
down  to  the  water,  the  ground  being  hard 
and  dry  to  the  water's  edge  and  covered  with 
shrubby  vegetation.  We  passed  completely 
round  this  pool,  finding  the  crowns  of  the 
trees  on  its  borders  tenanted  by  curassow 
birds,  whose  presence  was  bttiayed  as  usual 
by  the  peculiar  note  which  they  emit.  My 
companions  shot  two  of  them.  At  the  fur- 
ther end  of  the  lake  lay  a  deep  water-course, 
which  we  traced  for  about  half  a  mile,  and 
found  to  communicate  with  another  and 
smaller  pool.  This  second  one  evidentty 
swarmed  with  turtles,  as  we  saw  the  snouts 
of  many  peering  above  the  surface  of  the 
water  :  the  same  had  not  been  seen  in  the 
larger  lake,  probably  because  we  had  made 
too  much  noise  in  hailing  our  discovery,  on 
approaching  its  banks.  My  friends  made  au 
on  the  spot  for  returning 


pool,  after  the  termination  of  the  egg  harvest 
on  Catua. 

In  recrossing  the  space  between  the  two 
pools  we  heard  the  crash  of  monkeys  in  the 
crowns  of  trees  overhead.  The  chase  of 
these  occupied  us  a  considerable  time.  Jose 
fired  at  length  at  one  of  the  laggards  of  the 
troop,  and  wounded  him.  He  climbed 
pretty  nimbly  toward  a  denser  part  of  the 
tree,  and  a  second  and  a  third  discharge 
failed  to  bring  him  down.  The  poor  maimed 
creature  then  trailed  his  limbs  to  one  of  the 
topmost  branches,  where  we  descried  him 
soon  after,  seated  and  picking  the  entrails 
from  a  wound  in  his  abdomen— a  most  heart- 
rending sight.  The  height  from  the  ground 
to  the  bough  on  which  he  was  perched  could 
not  have  been  less  than  150  feet,  and  we 
could  get  a  glimpse  of  him  only  by  standing 
directly  underneath,  and  straining  our  eyes 
upward.  We  killed  him  at  last  'by  loading 
pur  best  gun  with  a  careful  charge,  and  rest- 
ing the  barrel  against  the  tree  trunk  to  steady 
the  aim.  A  few  shots  entered  his  chin,  and 
he  then  fell  heels  over  head  screaming  to  the 
ground.  Although  it  was  I  who  gave  the 
final  shot,  this  animal  did  not  fall  to  my  lot 
in  dividing  the  spoils  at  the  end  of  the  day. 
I  regret  now  not  having  preserved  the  skin, 
as  it  belonged  to  a  very  large  species  of 
Cebus,  and  one  which  I  never  met  with  after- 
ward. 

It  was  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
when  we  again  reached  the  spot  where  we 
had  first  struck  the  banks  of  the  larger  pool. 
We  had  hitherto  had  ,but  poor  spoit,  so  after 
dining  on  the  remains  of  our  fried  fish  and 
farinha,  and  smoking  pur  cigarettes,  the  ap 
paratus  for  making  which,  including  bamboo 
tinder-box  and  steel  and  flint  for  striking  a 
light,  being  carried  by  every  one  always  on 
these  expeditions,  we  made  off  in  another 
(westerly)  direction  through  the  forest  to 
try  to  find  better  hunting  ground.  We 
quenched  our  thirst  with  water  from  the 
pool,  which  I  was  rather  surprised  to  find 
quite  pure.  These  pools  are,  of  course, 
sometimes  fouled  for  a  time  by  the  move- 
ments of  alligators  and  other  tenants  in  the 
fine  mud  which  settles  at  the  bottom,  but  I 
never  observed  a  scum  of  confervse  or  traces 
of  oil  revealing  animal  decomposition  on  the 
surface  of  these  waters,  nor  was  there  ever 
any  foul  smell  perceptible.  The  whole  of 
this  level  land,  instead  of  being  covered  with 
unwholesome  swamps  emitting  malaria, 
forms  in  the  dry  season  (and  in  the  wet  also) 
a  most  healthy  country.  How  elaborate 
must  be  the  natural  processes  of  self-purifi- 
cation in  these  teeming  waters  ! 

On  our  fresh  route  we  were  obliged  to  cut 
our  way  through  a  long  belt  of  bamboo  un- 
derwood, and  not  being  so  caieful  of  my 
steps  as  my  companions,  I  trod  repeatedly  on 
the  flinty  thorns  which  had  fallen  from  the 
bushes,  finishing  by  becoming  completely 
lame,  one  thorn  having  entered  deeply  the 
sole  of  my  foot.  I  was  obliged  to  be  left  be- 
hind, Lino,  the  Indian,  remaining  with  me. 
T**  Careful  fellow  cleaned  my  wounds  with 


748 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


his  saliva,  placed  pieces  of  isca  (the  felt-like 
substance  manufactured  by  ants)  on  them  to 
stanch  the  blood,  and  bound  my  feet  with 
tough  bast  to  serve  as  shoes,  which  he  cut 
from  the  bark  of  a  Mouguba  tree.  He  went 
about  his  work  in  a  very  gentle  way  and 
with  much  skill,  but  was  so  sparing  of  speech 
that  I  could  scarcely  get  answers  to  the  ques- 
tions I  put  to  him.  When  he  had  done,  I 
was  able  to  limp  about  pretty  nimbly.  An 
Indian,  when  he  performs  a  service  of  this 
kind,  never  thinks  of  a  reward.  I  did  not 
find  so  much  disinterestedness  in  negro  slaves 
or  half-castes.  We  had  to  wait  two  hours 
for  the  return  of  our  companions  ;  during 
part  of  this  time  I  was  left  quite  alone,  Lino 
having  started  off  into  the  jungle  after  a 
peccary  (a  kind  of  wild  hog)  which  had  come 
near  to  where  we  sat,  but  on  seeing  us  had 
given  a  grunt  and  bounded  off  into  the  thick- 
ets. At  length  our  friends  hove  in  sight, 
loaded  with  game,  having  shot  twelve  curas- 
sows  and  two  cujubims  (Penelope  Pipile),  a 
handsome  black  fowl  with  a  white  head, 
which  is  arboreal  in  its  habits,  like  the  rest 
of  this  group  of  gallinaceous  birds  inhabiting 
the  South  American  forests.  They  had  dis- 
covered a  third  pool  containing  plenty  of  tur- 
tles. Lino  rejoined  us  at  the  same  time, 
having  missed  the  peccary,  but  in  compensa- 
tion shot  a  quandu,  or  porcupine.  The 
mulatto  boy  had  caught  alive  in  the  pool  a 
most  charming  little  water-fowl,  a  species  of 
grebe.  It  was  somewhat  smaller  than  a 
pigeon,  and  had  a  pointed  beak  ;  its  feet 
were  furnished  with  many  intricate  folds  or 
frills  of  skin  instead  of  webs,  and  resembled 
very  much  those  of  the  gecko  lizards.  The 
bird  was  kept  as  a  pet  m  Jabuti's  house  at 
Ega  for  a  long  time  afterward,  where  it  be- 
came accustomed  to  swim  about  in  a  common 
hand-basin  full  of  water,  and  was  a  great 
favorite  with  everybody. 

We  now  retraced  cur  steps  toward  the 
water-side,  a  weary  walk  of  five  or  six  miles, 
reaching  our  canoe  by  half -past  five  o'clock, 
or  a  little  before  sunset.  It  was  considered 
by  every  one  at  Catua  that  we  had  had  an  un- 
usually good  day's  sport.  I  never  knew  any 
small  party  to  take  so  much  game  in  one 
day  in  these  forests,  over  which  animals  are 
everywhere  so  widely  and  sparingly  scat- 
tered. My  companions  were  greatly  elated, 
and  on  approaching  the  encampment  at 
Catua  made  a  great  commotion  with  their 
paddles  to  announce  their  successful  return, 
singing  in  their  loudest  key  one  of  the  wild 
choruses  of  the  Amazonian  boatmen. 

The  excavation  of  eggs  and  preparation  of 
the  oil  being  finished,  we  left  Catua  on  the 
3d  of  November.  Carepira,  who  was  now 
attached  to  Cardozo's  party,  had  discovered 
another  lake  rich  in  turtles,  about  twelve 
miles  distant,  in  one  of  his  fishing  rambles, 
and  my  friend  resolved,  before  returning  to 
Ega,  to  go  there  with  his  nets  and  drag  it  as 
we  had  formerly  done  the  Aningal.  Several 
mameluco  families  of  Ega  begged  to  accom- 
pany us  to  share  the  labors  and  booty  :  the 


Shumana  family  also  joined  the  party  ;  we- 
therefore  formed  a  large  body,  numbering  in 
all  eight  canoes  and  fifty  persons. 

The  summer  season  was  now  breaking  up  : 
the  river  was  rising ;  the  sky  was  almost 
constantly  clouded,  and  we  had  frequent 
rains.  The  mosquitoes  also,  which  we  had 
not  felt  while  encamped  on  the  sand-bank? 
now  became  troublesome.  TTe  paddled  up 
the  north-westerly  channel,  and  arrived  at  a 
point  near  the  upper  end  of  Cat  ./a  at  ten 
o'clock  P.M.  There  was  here  a  vory  broad 
beach  of  untrodden  white  sand,  wh/ch  ex- 
tended quite  into  the  forest,  where  it  formed 
rounded  hills  and  hollows  like  sund-d  unes. 
covered  with  a  peculiar  vegetation:  harsh,, 
reedy  grasses,  and  low  trees  matted  together 
with  lianas,  and  varied  with  dwarf  spiny 
palms  of  the  genus  Bactris.  We  encamped 
for  the  night  on  the  sands,  finding  the  place 
luckily  free  from  mosquitoes.  The  different 
portions  of  the  party  made  arched  coverings 
with  the  toldos  or  maranta-leaf  awnings  of 
their  canoes  to  sleep  under,  fixing  the  edgea 
in  the  sand.  No  one,  however,  seemed  in- 
clined to  go  to  sleep,  so  after  supper  we  all 
sat  or  lay  around  the  large  fires  and  amused 
ourselves.  We  had  the  fiddler  with  us,  and, 
in  the  intervals  between  the  wretched  tunes 
which  he  played,  the  usual  amusement  of 
story-telling  beguiled  the  time — tales  of  hair- 
breadth escapes  from  jaguar,  alligator,  and 
so  forth.  There  were  among  us  a  father  and 
son  who  had  been  the  actors,  the  previous 
year,  in  an  alligator  adventure  on  the  edge 
of  the  praiawe  had  just  left.  The  son,  while 
bathing,  was  seized  by  the  thigh  and  carried 
under  water;  a  cry  was  raised,  and  the 
father,  rushing  down  the  bank,  plunged  after 
the  rapacious  beast  which  was  diving  away 
with  his  victim.  It  seems  almost  incredible 
that  a  man  could  overtake  arid  master  the 
large  cayman  in  his  own  element ;  but  such 
was  the  case  in  this  instance,  for  the  animal . 
was  reached  and  forced  to  release  his  booty  by 
the  man's  thrusting  his  thumb  into  his  eye. 
The  lad  showed  us  the  marks  of  the  alliga- 
tor's teeth  on  his  thigh.  We  sat  up  until 
past  midnight  listening  to  these  stories  and 
assisting  the  flow  of  talk  by  frequent  pota- 
tions of  burned  rum.  A  large  shallow  dish. 
was  filled  with  the  liquor  and  fired  ;  when  it. 
had  burned  for  a  few  minutes  the  flame  was 
extinguished,  and  each  one  helped  himself  by 
dipping  a  tea-cup  into  the  vessel. 

One'by  one  the  people  dropped  asleep  and 
then  the  quiet  murmur  of  talk  of  the  few 
who  remained  awake  was  interrupted  by  the.- 
roar  of  jaguars  in  the  jungle  about  a  furlong, 
distant.  There  was  not  one  only  but  severaL 
of  the  animals.  The  older  men  showed  con- 
siderable alarm  and  proceeded  to  light  fresh 
fires  around  the  outside  of  our  encampment. 
1  had  read  in  books  of  travels  of  tigers  com- 
ing to  warm  themselves  by  the  fires  of  a< 
bivouac,  and  thought  my  strong  wish  to  wit- 
ness the  same  sight  would  have  been  grati- 
fied to-night.  1  bad  not,  however  such  good 
fortune,  although  I  was  the  last  to  go  to  sleep, 
and  my  bed  was  the  bare  saud  under  a  little. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


749 


t  arched  covering  open  at  both  ends.     The 

jaguars  nevertheless  must  have  come  very 

near  during  the  night,  for  their  fresh  foot- 

_:marks  were  numerous  within  a  score  yards 

of  the  place  where  we  slept.   In  the  morning 

I  bad  a  ramble  along  the  borders  of  the  jun- 

.'gle,  and  found  the  tracks  very  numerous  and 

-close  together  on  the  sandy  soil. 

We  remained  in  this  neighborhood  four 
days,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  many  hun- 
dred turtles,  but  we  were  obliged  to  sleep 
two  nights  within  the  Carapanatuba  chan- 
nel. The  first  night  passed  rather  pleasantly,* 
for  the  weather  was  fine,  and  we  encamped 
in  the  forest,  making  large  fires  and  slinging 
our  hammocks  between  the  trees.  The  sec- 
ond was  one  of  the  most  miserable  nights  I 
ever  spent.  The  air  was  close,  and  a  driz- 
zling rain  began  to  fall  about  midnight,  last- 
ing until  morning.  We  tried  at  first  to  brave 
it  out  under  the  trees.  Several  very  large 
fires  were  made,  lighting  up  with  ruddy 
gleams  the  magnificent  foliage  in  the  black 
shades  around  our  encampment.  The  heat 
and  smoke  had  the  desired  effect  of  keeping 
off  pretty  well  the  mosquitoes,  but  the  rain 
continued  until  at  length  everything  was 
soaked,  and  we  had  no  help  for  it  but  to  bun- 
dle off  to  the  canoes  with  drenched  ham- 
mocks and  garments.  There  was  not  nearly 
room  enough  in  the  flotilla  to  accommodate 
so  large  a  number  of  persons  lying  at  full 
length  ;  moreover  the  night  was  pitch  dark, 
and  it  was  quite  impossible  in  the  gloom  and 
'  confusion  to  get  at  a  change  of  clothing. 
So  there  we  lay,  huddled  together  in  the  best 
way  we  could  arrange  ourselves,  exhausted 
with  fatigue  and  irritated  beyond  all  concep- 
tion by  clouds  of  mosquitoes.  I  slept  on  a 
bench  with  a  sail  over  me,  my  wet  clothes 
clinging  to  my  body,  and  to  increase  my  dis- 
comfort, close  beside  me  lay  an  Indian  girl, 
one  of  Cardozo's  domestics,  who  had  a  skin 
disfigured  with  black  disease  patches,  and 
whose  thick  clothing,  not  having  been 
washed  during  the  whole  time  we  had  been 
-out  (eighteen  days),  gave  forth  a  most  vile 
effluvium. 

We  spent  the  night  of  the  7th  of  Novem- 
ber pleasantly  on  the  smooth  sands,  where 
the  jaguars  again  serenaded  us,  and  on  the 
succeeding  morning  we  commenced  our  re- 
turn voyage  to  Ega.  We  first  doubled  the 
upper  end  of  the  Island  of  Catua,  and  then 
struck  off  for  the  right  bank  of  the  Soli- 
moens The  river  was  here  of  immense 
width,  and  the  current  was  so  strong  in  the 
middle  that  it  required  the  most  strenuous 
exertions  on  the  part  of  our  paddlers  to  pre- 
vent us  from  being  carried  miles  away  down 
the  stream.  At  night  we  reached  the  Juteca, 
a  small  river  which  enters  the  Solimoens  by 
a  channel  so  narrow  that  a  man  might  al- 
most jump  across  it,  but  a  furlong  inward 
expands  into  a  very  pretty  lake  several  miles 
in  circumference.  We  slept  again  in  the  for- 
est, and  again  were  annoyed  by  rain  and  mos- 
quitoes; but  this  time  Cardozo  and  I  preferred 
remaining  where  we  were  to  mingling  with 
.the  reeking  crowd  in  the  boats.  When  tho 


gray  dawn  arose,  a  steady  rain  was  still  fall- 
ing, and  the  whole  sky  had  a  settled  leaden 
appearance,  but  it  was  delightfully  cool. 
We  took  our  net  into  the  lake  arid  gleaned  a 
good  supply  of  delicious  fish  for  breakfast. 
I  saw  at  the  upper  end  of  this  lake  the  native 
rice  of  this  country  growing  wild. 

The  weather  cleared  up  at  10  o'clock  A.M. 
At  3  P.M.  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Cayambe,  another  tributary  stream  much 
larger  than  the  Juteca.  The  channel  of  exit 
to  the  Solimoens  was  here  also  very  narrow, 
but  the  expanded  river  inside  is  of  vast 
dimensions ;  it  forms  a  lake  (I  may  safely 
venture  to  say)  several  score  miles  in  circum- 
ference. Although  prepared  for  these  sur- 
prises, I  was  quite  taken  aback  in  this  case. 
We  had  been  paddling  all  day  along  a  monot- 
onous shore,  with  the  dreary  Solimoens  be- 
fore us,  here  three  to  four  miles  broad, 
heavily  rolling  onward  its  muddy  waters. 
We  come  to  a  little  gap  in  the  earthy  banks, 
and  find  a  dark,  narrow  inlet,  with  a  wall  of 
forest  overshadowing  it  on  each  side  ;  we 
enter  it  and  at  a  distance  of  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  a  glorious  sheet  of  water 
bursts  upon  the  view.  The  scenery  of  Cay- 
aiube  is  very  picturesque.  The  land,  on  th« 
two  sides  visible  of  the  lake,  is  high  and 
clothed  with  sombre  woods,  varied  here  and 
there  with  a  whitewashed  house  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  green  patch  of  clearing,  belonging 
to  settlers.  In  striking  contrast  to  these  dark 
rolling  forests  is  the  vivid  light-green  and 
cheerful  foliage  of  the  woods  on  the  numer 
ous  islets  which  rest  like  water-gardens  oi> 
the  surface  of  the  lake.  Flocks  of  ducks, 
storks,  and  snow-white  herons  inhabit  these 
islets,  and  a  noise  of  parrots  with  the  tingling 
chorus  of  Tamburf-paras  was  heard  from 
them  as  we  passed.  This  had  a  cheering 
effect,  after  the  depressing  stillness  and  ab- 
sence of  life  in  the  woods  on  the  margins  of 
the  main  river. 

Cardozo  and  I  took  a  small  boat  and  crossed 
the  lake  to  visit  one  of  the  settlers,  and  on 
our  return  to  our  canoe,  while  in  the  middle 
of  the  lake,  a  squall  suddenly  arose,  in  the 
direction  toward  which  we  were  going,  so 
that  for  a  whole  hour  we  were  in  great  dan- 
ger of  being  swamped.  The  wind  blew 
away  the  awning  and  mats,  and  lashed  the 
waters  into  foam,  the  waves  rising  to  a  great 
height.  Our  boat,  fortunately,  was  excel- 
lently constructed,  rising  well  toward  the 
prow,  so  that  with  good  steering  we  managed 
to  head  the  billows  as  they  arose,  and  escaped 
without  shipping  much  water.  We  reached 
our  igarite  at  sunset,  and  then  made  all  speed 
to  Curubaru,  fifteen  miles  distant,  to  encamp 
for  the  night  on  the  sands.  We  reached  the 
praia  at  ten  o'clock.  The  waters  were  now 
mounting  fast  upon  the  sloping  beach,  and 
we  found  on  dragging  the  net  next  morning 
that  fish  were  beginning  to  be  scarce  Car- 
dozo and  his  friends  talked  quite  gloomily  at 
breakfast  time,  over  the  departure  of  the  joy- 
ous verao,  and  the  setting  in  of  the  dull,  hun- 
gry winter  season. 
At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  10th 


750 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


of  November  a  light  wind  from  down  river 
sprang  up,  and  all  who  had  sails  hoisted 
them.  It  was  the  first  time  during  our  trip 
that  we  had  had  occasion  to  use  our  sails, 
so  continual  is  the  calm  on  this  upper  river. 
We  bowled  along  merrily,  and  soon  entered 
the  broad  channel  lying  between  Baria  and 
the  mainland  on  the  south  bank.  The  wind 
carried  us  right  into  the  mouth  of  the  Teffe, 
and  at  four  o'clock  P.M.  we  cast  anchor  iq 
the  port  of  Ega. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ANIMALS  OF    THE    NEIGHBORHOOD    OF  EGA. 

Scarlet-faced  Monkeys— Parauac6  Monkey— Owl-faced 
Night  Apes— Marmosets— Jupura— Bats— Birds— Cu- 
vier's  Toucan— Curl-crested  Toucan— Insects— Pen- 
dulous Cocoons— Foraging  Ante— Blind  Ants. 

As  may  have  been  gathered  from  the  re- 
marks already  made,  the  neighborhood  of 
Ega  was  a  fine  field  for  a  natural  history 
collector.  With  the  exception  of  what  could 
be  learned  from  the  few  specimens  brought 
home,  after  transient  visits,  by  Spix  and 
Martius  and  the  Count  de  Castelnau,  whose 
acquisitions  have  been  deposited  in  the 
public  museums  of  Munich  and  Paris,  very 
little  was  known  in  Europe  of  the  animal 
tenants  of  this  region.  The  collections  that  I 
had  the  opportunity  of  making  and  sending 
home  attracted,  therefore,  considerable  at- 
tention. Indeed,  the  name  of  my  favorite 
village  has  become  quite  a  household  word 
among  a  numerous  class  of  naturalists,  not 
only  in  England,  but  abroad,  in  consequence 
of  the  very  large  number  of  species  (upward 
of  3,000)  which  they  have  bad  to  describe, 
with  the  locality  "Ega"  attached  to  them. 
The  discovery  of  new  species,  however, 
forms  but  a  small  item  in  the  interest  be- 
longing to  the  study  of  the  living  creation. 
The  structure,  habits,  instincts,  and  geo- 

fraphical  distribution  of  some  of  the  oldest- 
uown  forms  supply  inexhaustible  materials 
for  reflection.  The  few  remarks  I  have  to 
make  on  the  animals  of  Ega  will  relate  to 
the  mammals,  birds,  and  insects,  and  will 
sometimes  apply  to  the  productions  o%the 
whole  Upper  Amazons  region.  We  will  be- 
gin with  the  monkeys,  the  most  interesting, 
next  to  man,  of  all  animals. 

Scarlet-faced  Monkeys.  —Early  one  sunny 
morning,  in  the  year  1855,  I  saw  in  the 
streets  of  Ega  a  number  of  Indians,  carrying 
on  their  shoulders  down  to  the  port,  to  be 
embarked  on  the  Upper  Amazons  steamer,  a 
large  cage  made  of  strong  lianas,  some 
twelve  feet  in  length  and  five  in  height,  con- 
taining a  dozen  monkeys  of  the  most  gro? 
tesque  appearance.  Their  bodies  (about 
eighteen  inches  in  height,  exclusive  of  limbs; 
were  clothed  from  neck  to  tail  with  very 
}ong,  straight,  and  shining  whitish  hair ; 
their  heads  were  nearly  bald,  owing  to  the 
very  short  crop  of  thin  giay  hairs,  and  their 
faces  glowed  with  the  most  vivid  scarlet  hue. 
As  a  finish  to  their  striking  physiognomy, 
they  had  bushy  whiskers  of  a  sandy  color, 
meeting  under  the  chin,  and  reddish-yellow 


eyes.  These  red-faced  apes  belonged  to  a& 
species  called  by  the  Indians  Uakafi,  which 
is  peculiar  to  the  Ega  district,  and  the  cage 
with  its  contents  was  being  sent  as  a  present- 
by  Senhor  Chrysostomo,  the  Director  of 
Indians  of  the  Japura,  to  one  of  the  govern- 
ment officials  at  Rio  Janeiro,  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  having  been  made  colonel  of  the 
new  National  Guard.  They  had  been  db 
tained  with  great  difficulty  in  the  forests 
which  cover  the  lowlands,  near  the  principal 
mouth  of  the  Japura,  about  thirty  miles  from 
Ega.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  ttiis 
most  curious  of  all  the  South  American 
monkeys,  and  one  that  appears  to  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  Spix  and  Martius.  I 
afterward  made  a  journey  to  the  distiict  in- 
habited by  it,  but  did  not  then  succeed  in . 
obtaining  specimens ;  before  leaving  the. 
country,  however,  I  acquired  two  individ- 
uals, one  of  which  lived  in  my  house  for 
several  weeks. 

The  scarlet- faced  monkey  belongs,  in  all  es- 
sential points  of  structure,  to  the  same  family 
(Cebidse)  as  the  rest  of  the  large-sized  Amer- 
ican species  ;  but  it  differs  from  all  its  rel- 
atives in  having  only  the  rudiment  of  a  tail^ 
a  member  which  reaches  in  some  allied  kinds, 
the  highest  grade  of  development  known  in 
the  order.  It  was  so  unusual  to  see  a  nearly 
tailless  monkey  from  America,  that  natural- 
ists thought,  when  the  first  specimens  ar 
rived  in  Europe,  that  the  member  had  been 
shortened  artificially.  Nevertheless,  the 
Uakari  is  not  quite  isolated  from  its  related 
species  of  the  same  family,  several  other 
kinds,  also  found  on  the  Amazons,  forming 
a  graduated  passage  between  the  extreme 
forms  as  regards  the  tail.  The  appendage 
reaches  its  perfection  in  those  genera  (the 
Howlers,  the  Lagothrix,  and  the  Spider 
Monkeys)  in  which  it  presents  on  its  under 
surface  near  the  tip  a  naked  palm,  which 
makes  it  sensitive  and  useful  as  a  fifth  hand, . 
in  climbing.  In  the  rest  of  the  genera  of* 
Cebidae  (seven  in  number,  containing  thirty- 
eight  species),  the  tail  is  weaker  in  structure,, 
entirely  covered  with  hair,  and  of  little  or 
no  service  in  climbing,  a  few  species  nearly 
related  to  our  Uakari  having  it  much  shorter 
than  usual.  All  the  Cebidae,  both  long- 
tailed  and  short-tailed,  are  equally  dwellers 
in  trees.  The  scarlet-faced  monkey  lives  in 
forests  which  are  inundated  daring  great 
part  of  the  year,  and  is  never  known  to  de- 
scend to  the  ground;  the  shortness  of  ilrf, 
tail  is  therefore  no  sign  of  terrestrial  habits, 
as  it  is  in  the  Macaques  and  Baboons  ol  tbo 
Old  World.  It  differs  a  little  from  the  typi- 
cal Cebidae  in  its  teeth,  the  incisors  being 
oblique  and  in  the  upper  jaw  converging,  BJ- 
as  to  leave  a  gap  between  the  outermost  and. 
the  cauine  teeth.  Like  all  the  rest  of  its 
family,  it  differs  from  the  monkeys  of  the 
Old  World,  and  from  man,  in  having  an 
additional  grinding-tooth  (premolar)  on  each 
side  of  both  jaws,  making  the  complete  set 
thirty-six  instead  of  thirty-two  in  number. 

The  white   Uakari  (Brachyurus   calvus)v 
seems  to  be    found    in    no    other  part  o£ 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  R1VE11  AMAZONS.  7» 

America  than  the  district  just  mentioned,  pear  until  two  or  three  hours  after  the  ani- 
naniely,  the  banks  of  the  Japura,  near  its  mal  WHS  quite  dead,  1  judged  that  it  was  not 
principal  mouth  ;  and  even  there  it  is  con-  exclusively  due  to  the  blood,  hut  paitly,  to 
lined,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  to  the  western  a  pigment  beneath  the  skin,  which  would 
side  of  the  river.  It  lives  in  small  troops  probably  retain  its  color  a  short  time  after 
among  the  crowns  of  the  lofty  trees  suosist-  the  circulation  had  ceased. 
ing  on  fruits  of  various  kinds.  Hunters  say  After  seeing  much  of  the  morose  dispoei- 
it  is  pretty  nimble  in  its  motions,  but  is  not  tion  of  the  Uakari,  I  was  not  a  little  sur- 
much  given  to  leaping,  preferring  to  run  up  prised  one  day  at  a  friend's  house  to  find  an 
and  down  the  larger  boughs  in  travelling  from  extremely  lively  and  familiar  individual  of 
t:ee  to  tree.  The  mother,  as  in  other  species  this  species.  It  ran  from  an  inner  chamber 
«'f  the  monkey  order,  carries  her  young  on  straight  toward  me,  after  I  had  sat  down 
lier  back.  Individuals  are  obtained  alive  by  on  a  chair,  climbed  my  legs  and  nestled  in 
t«hooting  them  with  the  blow-pipe  and  arrow  uiy  lap,  turning  round  and  looking  up  with 
lipped  with  diluted  Urari  poison.  They  run  the  usual  monkey's  grin,  after  it  had  made 
»  considerable  distance  after  being  pierced,  itself  comfortable.  It  was  a  young  animal 
utid  it  requires  an  experienced  hunter  to  which  had  been  taken  when  its  mother  was 
track  them.  He  is  considered  the  most  ex-  shot  with  a  poisoned  arrow  ;  its  teeth  were 
pert  who  can  keep  pace  with  a  wounded  one  incomplete,  and  the  face  was  pale  and  mot- 
and  catch  it  in  his  arms  when  it  falls  ex-  tied,  the  glowing  scarlet  hue  not  superven- 
hausted.  A  pinch  of  salt,  the  antidote  to  ing  in  these  animals  before  mature  age  ;  it 
the  poison,  is  then  put  in  its  mouth,  and  the  had  also  a  feW  long  black  hairs  on  the  eye- 
creature  revives.  The  species  is  rare,  even  brows  and  lips.  The  frisky  little  fellow  had 
in  the  limited  district  which  it  inhabits,  been  reared  m  the  house  among  the  children, 
Senhor  Chrysobtomo  sent  six  of  his  must  and  allowed  to  run  about  freely,  and  take  its 
skilful  Indians,  who  were  absent  three  weeks  meals  with  the  rest  of  the  household.  There 
before  they  obtained  the  twelve  specimens  are  few  animals  which  the  Brazilians  of 
which  formed  his  unique  and  princely  gift,  these  villages  have  not  succeeded  in  taming. 
When  an  independent  hunter  obtains  one,  a  I  have  even  seen  young  jaguars  running 
\ery  high  price  (thirty  to  forty  milreis*)  is  loose  about  a  house,  and  Ueated  as  pets, 
jisked,  these  monkeys  being  in  great  demand  The  animals  that  I  had  rarely  became 
for  presents  to  persons  of  influence  down  the  familiar,  however  long  they  might  remain  in 
river.  my  possession,  a  circumstance  due  no  doubt 

Adult  Uakaiis,  caught  in  the  way  just  to  their  being  kept  always  tied  up. 
described,  very  rarely  become  tame.  They  The  Uakari  is  one  of  the  many  species  of 
are  peevish  and  sulky,  resisting  all  attempts  animals  which  are  classified  by  the  Brazil- 
to  coax  them,  and  biting  any  one  who  ven-  ians  as  "  mortal,"  or  of  delicate  constitution, 
lures  within  teach.  They  have  no  part icu-  in  contradistinction  to  those  which  are 
lar  cry,  even  whtn  in  their  native  woods;  "duro,"  or  hardy.  A  large  proportion  of 
in  captivity  they  are  quite  silent.  In  the  the  specimens  sent  from  Ega  die  before  ar- 
course  of  a  few  days  or  weeks,  if  not  very  riving  at  Para,  and  scarcely  one  in  a  dozen 
carefully  attended  to,  they  fall  into  a  listless  succeeds  in  reaching  Rio  Janeiro  alive.  The 
condition,  refuse  food,  and  die.  Many  of  difficulty  it  has  of  accommodating  itself  to 
them  succumb  to  a  disease  which  I  suppose  changed  conditions  probably  has  some  con- 
fiom  the  symptoms  to  l>e  inflammation  of  nectiou  with  the  v«ry  limited  range,  or  con- 
the  chest  or  lungs.  The  one  which  1  kept  flued  sphere  of  life,  of  the  species  in  its 
as  a  pet  died  of  this  disorder,  after  I  had  had  natural  statf ,  its  native  home  being  an  area 
11  about  three  weeks.  It  lost  its  appetite  in  of  swamp;  woods,  not  more  than  about 
a  very  few  days,  although  kept  in  an  airy  sixty  squr'  e  miles  in  extent,  although  no 
veranda;  its  coat,  which  was  originally  permaueru  barrier  exists  to  check  its  dis- 
long,  emopth,  find  glossy,  became  dingy  and  persal,  except  toward  the  south,  over  a 
ragged,  like  that  of  the  specimens  seen  in  much  wider  space.  When  I  descended  the 
museums,  and  the  bright  scarlet  color  of  its  river  in  1859,  we  had  with  us  a  tame  adult 
face  changed  to  a  duller  hue.  This  color,  Uakari,  which  was  allowed  to  ramble  about 
in  health,  is  spread  over  the  features  up  to  the  vessel,  a  large  schooner.  When  we 
the  roots  of  the  hair  on  the  forehead  and  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  we  had 
temples,  and  down  to  the  neck,  including  to  wait  four  days  while  the  custom-house 
the  flabby  cheeks,  which  hang  down  below  officials  at  Barra,  ten  miles  distant,  made  out 
the  jaws.  The  animal  in  this  condition  the  passports  for  our  crew,  and  during  this 
looks  at  a  short  distance  as  though  some  one  time  the  schooner  lay  close  to  the  shore, 
had  laid  a  thick  coat  of  red  paint  on  its  with  its  bowsprit  secured  to  the  trees  on  the 
countenance.  The  death  of  my  pet  was  bank.  Well,  one  morning,  scarlet-face  was 
slow  ;  duiing  the  last  twenty-four  hours  it  missing  having  made  his  escape  into  tkd 
lay  prostrate,  breathing  quickly,  its  chest  forest  Two  men  were  sent  in  search  of 
strongly  heaving  ;  the  color  of  its  face  be-  him,  but  returned  after  several  hours'  ab- 
came  gradually  paler,  but  was  still  red  when  seuce  without  having  caught  sight  of  the 
it  expired.  As  the  hue  did  not  quite  disap-  runaway.  We  gave  up  the  monkey  for  lost, 

until  the  following  day,  when  he  ieappeari-«l 

*  Thn'e  pounds  seven  shillings  to  four  pounds  thir-    on  the  skirts  of    the    forest,    and   march  •  1 
teen  Bhillinge.  .quirtly  .1  >\vu  the  b  nvsprit  to  his  usual  p!;»cv 


T52 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


on  deck.  He  had  evidently  found  the 
forests  of  the  Rio  Negro  very  different  from 
those  of  the  delta  lands  of  the  Japura  and 
preferred  captivity  to  freedom  in  a  place 
that  was  so  uncongenial  to  him. 

The  Parauacfi,  Monkey.  —  Another  Ega 
monkey,  nearly  related  to  the  Uakaris,  is  the 
Parauaeu  (Pithecia  hirsuta),  a  timid,  inoffen- 
sive creature,  with  a  long  bear-like  coat  of 
harsh  speckled-gray  hair.  The  long  fur 
hangs  over  the  head,  half  concealing  the 
pleasing  diminutive  face,  and  clothes  also 
the  tail  to  the  tip,  which  member  is  well  de- 
veloped, being  eighteen  inches  in  length,  or 
longer  than  the  body.  The  Parauacu  is 
found  on  the  "terra  flrma "  lands  of  the 
north  shore  of  the  Solimoens,  from  Tunan- 
tins  to  Peru,  It  exists  also  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river,  namely,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Teffe,but  there  under  a  changed  form,  which 
differs  a  little  from  its  type  in  colors.  This 
form  has  been  described  by  Dr.  Gray  as  a 
distinct  species,  under  the  name  of  Pithecia 
albicans.  The  Parauacu  is  also  a  very  deli- 
cate animal,  rarely  living  many  weeks  in 
captivity ;  but  any  one  who  succeeds  in 
keeping  it  alive  for  a  month  or  two,  gains  in 
it  a  most  affectionate  pet.  One  of  the 
specimens  of  Pithecia  albicans  now  in  the 
British  Museum  was,  when  living,  the  prop- 
erty of  a  young  Frenchman,  a  neighbor  of 
mine  at  Ega.  It  became  so  tame  in  tne 
course  of  a  few  weeks,  that  it  followed  him 
about  the  streets  like  a  dog.  My  friend  was 
a  tailor,  and  the  little  pet  used  to  spend  the 
greater  part  of  the  day  seated  on  his  shoulder 
while  Le  was  at  work  on  his  board.  It 
showed,  nevertheless,  great  dislike  to  stran- 
gers, and  was  not  on  good  terms  with  any 
other  member  of  my  friend's  household  than 
himself.  I  saw  no  monkey  that  showed  so 
strong  a  personal  attachment  as  this  gentle, 
timid,  silent  little  creature.  The  eager  and 
passionate  Cebi  seem  to  take  the  lead  of  all 
the  South  American  monkeys  in  intelligence 
and  docility,  and  the  Coaita  has  perhaps  the 
most  gentle  and  impressible  disposition  ;  but 
the  Parauacu,  although  a  dull,  cheerless 
animal,  excels  all  in  this  quality  of  capability 
of  attachment  to  individuals  of  our  own 
species.  It  is  not  wanting,  however,  in  in- 
telligence as  well  as  moral  goodness,  proof 
of  which  was  furnished  one  day  by  an  act 
of  our  little  pet.  My  neighbor  had  quitted 
his  house  in  the  morning  without  taking 
Parauacu  witu  him,  and  the  little  creature 
having  missed  its  friend,  and  concluded,  as 
it  seemed,  that  he  would  be  sure  to  come  to 
me,  both  being  in  the  habit  of  paying  me  a 
daily  visit  together,  came  straight  to  my 
dwelling,  taking  a  short  cut  over  gardens, 
trees,  and  thickets,  instead  of  going  the 
roundabout  way  of  the  street.  It  had  never 
done  this  before,  and  we  knew  the  route  it 
had  taken  only  from  a  neighbor  having 
watched  its  movements.  On  arriving  at  my 
house  and  not  finding  its  master,  it  climbed 
to  the  top  of  my  table^  and  sat  with  an  air  of 
quiet  resignation,  waiting  for  him.  Shortly 
afterward,  my  friend  entered,  and  the 


gladdened  pet  then  jumped  to  its  usual  peroh 
on  his  shoulder. 

Owl-faced  Night  Apes. — A  third  interesting 
genus  of  monkeys,  found  near  Ega,  are  the 
Nyctipitheci,  or  Night  Apes,  called  Ei-a  by 
the  Indians.  Of  these  I  found  two  species, 
closely  related  to  each  other,  but  neverthe- 
less quite  distinct,  as  both  inhabit  the  same 
forests,  namely,  those  of  the  higher  and 
drier  lands,  without  mingling  with  each 
other  or  intercrossing.  They  sleep  all  day 
long  in  hollow  trees,  and  come  forth  to  prey 
on  insects  and  eat  fruits  only  in  the  night. 
They  are  of  small  size,  the  body  being  about 
a  foot  long,  and  the  tail  fourteen  inches,  and 
are  thickly  clothed  with  soft  gray  and  brown 
far,  similar  in  substance  to  that  of  the  rab« 
bit.  Their  physiognomy  reminds  one  of  the 
owl  or  tiger-cat ;  the  face  is  round  and  en- 
circled by  a  ruff  of  whitish  fur  ;  the  muzzle 
is  not  at  all  prominent ;  the  mouth  and  chiu 
are  small ;  the  ears  are  very  short,  scarcely 
appearing  above  the  hair  of  the  h^ad  ;  and 
the  eyes  are  large  and  yellowish  in  color, 
imparting  the  staring  expression  of  noctur- 
nal animals  of  prey.  The  forehead  is  whit- 
ish, and  decorated  with  three  black  stripes, 
which  in  one  of  the  species  (Nyctipithecus 
trivirgatus)  continue  to  the  crown,  and  in 
the  other  (N.  felinus)  meet  on  the  top  of  the 
forehead.  N.  trivirgatus  was  first  described 
by  Humboldt,  who  discovered  it  on  the 
banks  of  the  Cassiquiare,  near  the  head 
Waters  of  the  Rio  Negro. 

I  kept  a  pet  animal  of  the  N.  trivirgatus 
for  many  months,  a  young  one  having  been 
given  to  me  by  an  Indian  compadre,  as  a  pres- 
ent from  my  newly- baptized  godson.  These 
monkeys,  although  sleeping  by  day,  are 
aroused  by  the  least  noise,  so  that  when  a 
person  passes  by  a  tree  in  which  a  number 
of  them  are  concealed,  he  is  startled  by  the 
sudden  apparition  of  a  group  of  little  striped 
faces  crowding  a  hole  in  the  trunk.  It  was 
in  this  way  that  my  compadre  discovered 
the  colony  from  which  the  one  given  to  me 
was  taken.  I  was  obliged  to  keep  my  pet 
chained  up ;  it  therefore  never  became 
thoroughly  familiar.  I  once  saw,  however, 
an  individual  of  the  other  species  (N.  feli- 
nus) which  was  most  amusingly  tame.  It 
was  as  lively  and  nimble  as  the  Cebi,  but  not 
so  mischievous  and  far  more  confiding  in  its 
disposition,  delighting  to  be  caressed  by  all 
persons  who  came  into  the  house.  But  its 
owner,  the  Municipal  Judge  of  Ega,  Dr. 
Carlos  Mariana,  had  treated  it  for  many 
weeks  with  the  greatest  kindness,  allowing  it 
to  sleep  with  him  at  night  in  his  hammock, 
and  to  nestle  in  his  bosom  half  the  day  as  he 
lay  reading.  It  was  a  great  favorite  with 
every  one,  from  the  cleanliness  of  its  habits 
and  the  prettiness  of  its  features  and  ways. 
My  own  pet  was  kept  in  a  box,  in  which 
was  placed  a  broad-mouthed  glass  jar  ;  mto 
this  it  would  dive,  head-foremost,  when  any 
one  entered  the  room,  turning  round  inside, 
and  thrusting  forth  its  inquisitive  face  an 
instant  afterward  to  stare  at  the  intruder. 
Ij  was  very  active  at  night,  venting  at  f n*- 


THE  NATURALIST  03    IKE  RIVER  AMAZCNS.  753  _ 

quent  intervals  a  hoarse  cry,  like  the  sup-  collector  of  birds  and  mammals,  whom  I  em- 
pressed  barking  of  a  dog,  and  scampering  ployed,  and  who  resided  a  long  time  among 
about  the  room,  to  the  length  of  its  tether,  |  the  Tucuna  Indians,  near  Tabatiiiga,  I  calcu- 
after  cockroaches  and  spiders.  In  climbing  •  lated  that  one  horde  of  this  tribe,  200  in  num- 
between  the  box  and  the  wall,  it  straddled  ber,  destroyed  1,200  of  these  monkeys  annu- 
the  space,  resting  its  hands  on  the  palms  and  ally  for  food.  The  spec'es  is  very  numerous 
tips  of  the  outstretched  fingers,  with  the  in  the  forests  of  the  higher  lands,  but,  owing 
knuckles  bent  at  an  acute  angle,  and  thus  to  long  persecution,  it  is  now  seldom  seen  in 
mounted  to  the  top  with  the  greatest  facility,  the  neighborhood  of  the  larger  villages.  It 
Although  seeming  to  prefer  insects,  it  ate  is  not  found  at  all  on  the  Lower  Amazons. 
jill  kinds  of  fruit,  but  would  not  touch  raw  Its  manners  in  captivity  are  grave,  and  its 
or  cooked  meat,  and  was  very  seldom  thirsty,  temper  mild  and  confiding,  like  that  of  the 
I  was  told  by  persons  who  had  kept  these  Coaitas.  Owing  to  these  traits,  the  Barrigudo 
monkeys  loose  about  the  house,  that  they  is  much  sought  after  for  pets  ;  but  it  is  not 
cleared  the  chambers  of  bats  as  well  as  insect  hardy,  like  the  Coaitas,  and  seldom  survives 
vermin.  When  approached  gently,  my  Ei-a  a  passage  down  the  river  to  Para 
allowed  itself  to  be  caressed  ;  but  when  Marmosets. — It  now  only  remains  to  notice 
handled  roughly,  it  always  took  alarm,  biting  the  Marmosets,  which  form  the  second  family 
seveiely,  striking  out  its  little  hands,  and  of  American  monkeys.  Our  old  friend 
making  a  hissing  noise  like  a  cat.  As  al-  Midas  ursulus  of  Para  and  the  Lower  Ama- 
ready  related,  my  pet  was  killed  by  a  jealous  zons  is  not  found  on  the  upper  river,  but  in 
Caiaiara  monkey,  which  was  kept  in  the  its  stead  a  closely  allied  species  presents  it- 
house  at  the  same  time.  self,  which  appears  to  be  the  Midas  rufoniger 
Barrigudo  Monkeys. — Ten  other  species  of  of  Gervais,  whose  mouth  is  bordered  with 
monkeys  were  found,  in  addition  to  those  longish  white  hairs.  The  habits  of  this  spe- 
already  mentioned,  in  the  forests  of  the  Up-  cies  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  M.  ursulus, 
per  Amazons.  All  were  stiicly  arboreal  and  indeed  it  seems  probable  that  it  is  a  form  or 
diumal  in  their  habits,  and  lived  in  flocks,  race  of  the  same  stock,  modified  to  suit  the 
travelling  from  tree  to  tree,  the  mothers  with  altered  local  conditions  under  which  it  lives, 
their  childien  on  their  backs;  leading,  in  One  day,  while  walking  along  a  forest  path- 
fact,  a  life  similar  to  that  of  the  Pararauate  way,  I  saw  one  of  these  lively  little  fellows 
Indians,  and,  like  them,  occasionally  phm-  miss  his  grasp  as  he  was  passing  from  ono 
dering  the  plantations  which  lie  near  their  tree  to  another  along  with  his  troop.  He 
line  of  march.  Some  of  them  were  found  fell  head-foremost  from  a  height  of  at  least 
also  on  tbe  Lower  Amazons,  and  have  been  fifty  feet  ,but  managed  cleverly  to  alight  on 
noticed  in  former  chapters  of  this  narrative,  his  legs  in  the  pathway  ;  quickly  turning 
Of  the  remainder,  the  most  remarkable  is  the  round,  lm  gave  me  a  good  stare  for  a  few 
Macaco  ban  igudo,  or  big-bellied  monkey  of  moments,  and  then  bounded  olf  gayly  t«> 
the  Portuguese  colonists,  a  sped  28  of  Laffoth-  climb  another  tree.  At  Tunantius  1  shot  a 
-ix.  The  genus  is  closely  allied  to  the  pair  of  very  hanrlsome  species  of  marmoset, 
Coaitas,  or  spider  monkeys,  having,  like  the  M.  rufiventer,  I  believe,  of  zoologists, 
ihem,  exceedingly  strong  and  flexible  tails,  Its  coat  was  very  glossy  and  smooth,  the 
which  are  furnished  underneath  with  a  back  deep  brown,  and  the  underside,  of  the 
naked  palm  like  a  hand,  for  grasping.  The  body  of  rich  black  and  reddish  hues.  A 
Barrigudos,  however,  are  very  bulky  ani-  third  species  (found  at  Tabattngi,  200  miles 
mals,  while  the  spider  monkeys  are  remark-  further  west)  is  of  a  deep  black  color,  with 
able  for  the  slenderness  of  their  bodies  and  the  exception  of  a  patch  of  white  hair  around 
limbs.  I  obtained  specimens  of  what  have  its  mouth.  The  little  animal  at  a  short  dis- 
been  considered  two  species,  one  (L.  oliva-  tance  looks  as  though  it  held  a  ball  of  snow- 
ceus  of  Spix?)  having  the  head  clothed  with  white  cotton  in  its  teeth.  The  last  I  shall 
gray,  the  other  (L.  Humboldtii)  with  black  mention  is  the  Hapale  pygmseus,  one  of  the 
fur.  They  both  live  together  in  the  same  most  diminutive  forms  of  the  monkey  order, 
places,  and  are  probably  only  differently  col-  three  full-grown  specimens  of  which,  measur- 
ored  individuals  of  one  and  the  same  species  ing  only  seven  inches  in  length  of  body,  I 
I  sent  home  a  very  large  male  of  one  of  these  obtained  neatr  St.  Paulo.  The  pretty  Lili- 
kinds,  which  measured  twenty -seven  inches  putian  face  is  furnished  with  long  brown 
in  length  of  trunk,  the  tail  being  twenty-six  whiskers,  which  are  naturally  brushed  back 
inches  Jong  ;  it  was  the  largest  rm  ukey  I  over  the  ears.  The  general  color  of  the  ani- 
saw  in  America,  with  the  exception  of  a  mal  is  brownish-tawny,  but  the  tail  is  ele- 
black  Howler,  whose  body  was  twenty-eight  gantly  barred  with  black.  I  was  surprised 
.nches  in  height.  The  skin  of  the  face  in  on  my  return  to  Eugland  to  learn,  from 
the  Barrigudo  is  black  and  wrinkled,  the  specimens  in  the  British  Museum,  that  Uis 
forehead  is  low,  with  the  eyebrows  project-  pygmy  marmoset  was  found  also  in  Mexic  >, 
ing,  and,  in  short,  the  features  altogether  re-  no  other  Amazonian  monkey  being  known  U» 
semble  in  a  striking  manner  those  of  an  old  wander  far  from  the  great  river  plain.  Thus 
negro.  In  the  forests  the  Barrigudo  is  not  a  the  smallest  and  apparently  the  feeblest  spe- 
very  active  animal;  it  lives  exclusively  on  ciesofthewholeorderisonewliichhasby  some 
fruits,  and  is  much  persecuted  by  the  In-  ja^ius  become  the  most  widely  dispersed, 
dians  on  account  of  the  excellence  of  its  fleeb  The  Jupurd. — A  curious  animal,  known  to 
Ts  food.  From  information  ijiven  me  by  ij.  jaturalists  as  the  Kinkalou  f*U  called  Japui & 


754  THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE   RIVER  AMAZONS. 

by  the  Indians  of  the  Amazon8,  and  con-  Many  small  and  curious  species  living  in  the 
sidered  by  them  as  a  kind  of  monkey,  may  woods  conceal  themselves  by  day  under  the 
be  mentioned  in  this  place.  It  is  the  Cerco-  broad  leaf  -blades  of  Heliconiae  and  other 
leptes  caudivolvus  of  zoologists,  and  has  plants  which  grow  in  shady  places  ;  others 
been  considered  by  some  authors  as  an  inter-  cling  to  the  trunks  of  trees.  While  walking 
mediate  form  between  the  Lemur  family  of  through  the  forest  in  the  daytime,  especially 
apes  and  the  plantigrade  Carnivora,  or  bear  along  gloomy  ravines,  one  is  almost  sure  to 
family.  It  has  decidedly  no  close  relation-  startle  bats  from  their  sleeping-places,  end 
ship  to  either  of  the  groups  of  American  at  night  they  are  often  seen  in  great  num. 
monkeys,  having  six  cutting  teeth  to  each  bers  flitting  about  the  trees  on  the  shady 
jaw,  and  long  claws  instead  of  nails,  with  margins  of  narrow  channels.  I  captured 
extremities  of  the  usual  shape  of  paws  in-  altogether,  without  giving  especial  attention 
stead  of  hands.  Its  muzzle  is  conical  and  to  bats,  sixteen  different  species  at  Ega. 
pointed,  like  that  of  many  lemurs  of  Mada-  TJie  Vampire  Bat. — The  little  gray  blocd- 
gascar  ;  the  expression  of  its  countenance,  sucking  Fliyllostoma,  mentioned  in  a  forim  r 
and  its  habits  and  actions,  are  also  very  chapter  as  found  in  my  chamber  at  Caripi, 
similar  to  those  of  lemurs.  Its  tail  is  very  was  not  uncommon  at  Ega,  where  every  ono 
flexible  toward  the  tip,  and  is  used  to  twine  believes  it  to  visit  sleepers  and  bleed  them  in 
round  branches  in  climbing.  I  did  not  see  the  night.  But  the  vampire  was  here  by  far 
or  hear  anything  of  this  animal  while  resid-  the  most  abundant  of  the  family  of  leaf-nosed 
ing  on  the  Lower  Amazons,  but  on  the  banks  bats.  It  is  the  largest  of  all  the  South 
of  the  upper  river,  from  the  Teffe  to  Peru,  American  species,  measuring  twenty-eight 
it  appeared  to  be  rather  common.  It  is  noc-  inches  in  expanse  of  wing.  Nothing  in  ani- 
turnal  in  its  habits,  like  the  owl  faced  mon-  mal  physiognomy  can  be  more  hideous  than 
keys,  although  unlike  them  it  has  a  bright,  the  countenance  of  this  creature  when  viewed 
dark  eye.  i  once  saw  it  in  considerable  from  the  front,  the  large  leathery  ears  stand- 
numbers  when  on,  an  excursion  with  an  'In-  ing  out  from  the  sides  and  top  of  the  head, 
dian  companion  along  the  low  Ygapo  shores  the  erect  spear-shaped  appendage  on  the  tip 
of  the  Teffe,  about  twenty  miles  above  Ega.  of  the  nose,  the  grin  and  the  glistening  black 
We  slept  one  night  at  ine  house  of  a  native  eye,  all  combining  to  make  up  a  figure  that 
family  living  in  the  thick  of  the  forest,  where  reminds  one  of  some  mocking  imp  of  fable, 
a  festival  was  going  on,  and  there  being  no  No  wonder  that  imaginative  people  have  in- 
room  to  hang  our  hammocks  under  shelter,  ferred  diabolical  instincts  on  the  part  of  so 
on  account  of  the  number  of  visitors,  we  lay  ugly  an  animal.  The  vampire,  however,  is 
down  on  a  mat  in  the  open  air,  near  a  shed  the  most  harmless  of  all  bats,  and  its  inoffen- 
which  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  of  fruit,  sive  character  is  well  known  to  residents  on 
trees  and  pupunha  palms.  Past  midnight,  the  banks  of  the  Amazons.  I  found  two  dis- 
when  all  became  still  after  the  uproar  of  holi-  tinct  species  of  it,  one  having  the  fur  of  a 
day-making,  as  I  was  listening  to  the  dull,  blackish  color,  the  other  of  a  ruddy  hue,  and 
fanning  sound  made  by  the  wings  of  impish  ascertained  that  both  feed  chiefly  on  fruits, 
hosts  of  vampire  bats  crowding  round  the  The  church  at  Ega  was  the  headquarters  ol 
Caju  trees,  a  rustle  commenced  from  the  side  both  kin  Is  ;  I  used  to  see  them,  as  I  sat  at 
of  the  woods,  and  a  troop  of  slender,  long-  my  dr»r  luring  the  short  evening  twilights, 
tailed  animals  were  seen  against  the  clear  trooping  /  orth  by  scores  from  a  large  open 
moonlit  sky,  taking  flying  leaps  from  branch  window  at  the  back  of  the  altar,  twittering 
to  branch  through  the  grove.  Many  of  them  cheerfully  as  they  sped  off  to  the  borders  of 
stopped  at  the  pupuuha  trees,  and  the  the  forest.  They  sometimes  enter  houses ; 
hustling,  twittering,  and  screaming,  with  the  first  time  I  saw  one  in  my  chamber, 
sounds  of  falling  fruits,  showed  how  they  wheeling  heavily  round  and  round,  I  mistook 
were  employed.  I  thought  at  first  they  were  u  cor  a  pigeon,  thinking  that  a  tame  one  had 
Nyctipitheci,  but  they  proved  to  be  Jupuras,  escaped  from  the  premises  of  one  of  my 
for  the  owner  of  the  house  early  next  morn-  neighbors.  I  opened  the  stomach  of  several 
in#  caught  a  young  one,  and  gave  it  to  me.  of  these  bats,  and  found  them  to  contain  a 
I  l.ept  this  as  a  pet  animal  for  several  weeks,  mass  of  pulp  and  seeds  of  fruits,  mingled 
fetdiug  it  on  bananas  and  mandioca-meal  with  a  few  remains  of  insects.  The  natives 
mi  xed  wilh  treacle.  It  became  tame  in  a  say  they  devour  ripe  cajus  and  guavas  on 
very  short  time,  allowing  itself  to  be  caressed,  trees  in  the  gardens,  but  On  comparing  the 
but  making  a  distinction  in  the  degree  of  seeds  taken  from  their  stomachs  with  those 
coafideiice  it  showed  between  myself  and  of  all  cultivated  trees  of  Ega,  I  found  they 
s^ augers.  My  pet  was  unfortunately  killed  were  unlike  any  of  them;  it  is  therefore 
by  a  neighbor's  dog,  which  entered  the  room  probable  that  they  generally  resort  to  the  for- 
ks'here  it  was  kept.  The  animal  is  so  difficult  est  to  feed,  coming  to  the  village  in  the  morn- 
to  libtam  alive,  its  place  of  retreat  in  the  day-  ing  to  sleep,  because  they  find  it  more  secure 
tii-ie  not  being  known  to  the  natives,  that  I  from  animals  of  prey  than  their  natural 
wj»s  unable  to  procure  a  second  living  speci-  abodes  in  the  woods. 
m<m. 

Bute.  — The  only  other  mammals  that  I  shall       Birds. — I  have  already  had  occasion  to  men 
mention  are  the  bats,  which  exist  in  very   tion  several  of  the  more  interesting  birds 
«srnsi,lenii»le  numbers  and  variety  in  the  for-    found  in  the  Ega  district.    The  first  thing  that 
t».  as  well  as  in  the  buildings  of  thevilhiges.    would  strike  a'new-comeriu  the  forest  of  th* 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


'Tpper -Aimaawms  would  be  the  general  scarcity 
•of  birds,;  indeed,  it  of  ten  happened  that  1  did 
mot  meet  witfc  a  single  bird  during  a  whole 
•days'  rsnilfefte  in  the  richest  and  most  varied 
jpart  of  ifflafe  wood.  Yet  the  country  is  ten- 
ranted  by  Moany  feumdred  species,  many  of 
'which  ane  la  reality  abundant,  and  seme  of 
them  conspicuous  from  their  brilliant  plu- 
muige.  Thecauseof  their  apparent  rarity  is  fro 
be  sought  in  the  sameness  and  density  of  the 
tth«  usand  miles  of  forest  which  constitute 
their  dwelling-place.  The  birds  of  the  coun- 
fl.-y  aie  gregarious,  at  least  during  the  seasons 
^viien  they  are  mort  readily  found  ;  but  the 
t  ugivorous  kinds  are  to  be  met  with  e>nly 
"\\htn  certain  , wild  fruits  are  ripe,  and  to 
Ikuow  the  exact  localities  of  the  trees  requires 
mionths  of  experience.  It  wculd  not  be  sup- 
iposed  that  the  insectivorcus  biiels  are  also 
fgregarious  ;  but  they  are  so.  m  mbers  of  dis- 
tinct species,  behngiug  to  many  different 
families,  joining  trgHher  in  the  chase  or 
d?caich  of  food.  The  prceet  dints  of  these 
associated  bands  of  insect-)  unteis  are  not  a 
l.ttle  curious,  and  merit  a  few  remarks. 

While  hunting  ale  ng  the  IU.M-OW  pathways 
1hat  are  made  through  the  forest  in  the 
neighborhood  of  houses  and  villages,  e>ne 
m>ay  pass  eeveial  days  without  seeing  "many 
hints  ;  iut  new  and  then  the  surrounding 
.lushes  und  trees  appear  suddenly  1o  swaim 
-with  them.  There  are  scoies,  probably  hun- 
ch eds,  of  turds,  all  moving  about  with  the 
{greatest  activity — woodpeckers  and  Dtndio- 
•<  <  laptid«e  (from  species  no  larger  than  a  spar- 
s' w  to  others  the  size  cf  a  cre.w)  running  up 
it  he  tree  trunks  ;  tanagers,  ant -thrushes,  hum 
Hii'ng-birds,  fly-catehers,  and  bar  bets,  flitting 
a  1  out  the  leaves  and  lower  brunches.  The 
1  usi ling  crowd  loses  ro  lime,  and  although 
n  oving  in -conceit,  each  bird  is  occupied  on 
iis  cwn  account  in  searching  bark  or  leaf  or 
iwig,  the  barbels  visiting  every  clayey  nest 
<  f  teimiteson  the  trees  which  lie  in  the  line 
•<  f  inarch.  In  a  few  minutes  the  host  is 
g'one,  and  the  forest  path  remains  deserted 
a  nd-  silent  as  before.  I  berame-  in  course  of 
•1'me  Foaecustemed  to  this  habit  of  birds  in 
the  woods  near  Ega,  that  I  could  generally 
tfind  the  flock  oi  associated  marauders  when- 
*  ver  I  wanted  it.  Thtre  appeared  to  be  only 
«rne  of  tiiese  flt,eks  in  et«ch  small  district; 
4  nd  as  it  traversed  ehiefly  a  limited  tract  of 
•\Nocds  of  second  gicwth  I  used  to  try  differ- 
<nt  paths  until  I  ci  me  up  with  it. 

The  Indians  have  noticed  these  miscehane- 
cus  1  unting-f  aities  of  birds,  but  appear  not 
to  have  observed  that  they  are  occupied  in 
searching  for  insects.  They  have  supplied 
their  want  of  knowledge,  in  the  usual  way 
<  f  half-civilized  people,  by  a  theory  which 
has  degenerated  into  a  myth,  to  the  effect 
that  the  onward  mewing  bands  are  led  by  a 
little  gray  bird  called  the  Uiia-paia,  which 
fascinates  all  the  resl.  and  leads  them  aweary 
dance  through  the  thickets.  There  is  cer- 
tainly »ome  appearance  of  truth  in  this  ex- 
planation ;  for  srmetimes  stray  birds  encoun- 
tered in  the  line  of  march  are  seen  to  be 
drawn  intp  tpe  Jjrrpnjj,  and  purely  fiugivor- 


7M 

ons  birds  are  now  and  then  found  mixed  up 
with  the  rest,  as  though  led  away  by  some 
will-o'-the-wisp.  The  native  wtuien,  even 
the  white  and  half-caste  inhabitants  of  the 
towns,  attach  a  superstitious  value  to  the 
skin  and  feathers  of  the  Uiia-para,  believing 
that  if  they  keep  them  in  their  clothes-chest 
the  relics  will  have  the  effect  of  attracting 
for  the  happy  possessors  a  train  of  lovers  and 
followers.  These  birds  are  et  nsenmently  in 
great  demand  in  some  pjacee.  fr***  ^untera 
selling  them  at  a  h;gii  price  to  the  foolish 
girls,  who  preserve  the  bodies  by  drying  flesh 
and  feathers  together  in  the  sun.  1  could 
never  get  a  sight  of  this  famous  little  biid  in 
the  forest.  I  once  employed  Indians  to  ob- 
tain specimens  for  me  ;  but  after  the  same 
man  (who  was  a  noted  woodsman)  had 
brought  me  at  different  times  three  distrnct 
species  of  birds  as  the  Uira-para,  I  gave  up 
the  story  as  a  piece  of  humbug.  The  sim- 
plest explanation  appears  to  be  this,  that  the 
birds  associate  in  flocks  from  the  instinct 
of  self-preservation,  and  in  order  to  be  a 
less  easy  prey  to  hawks,  snakes,  and  other 
enemies,  than  they  would  be  if  feeding 
lone. 

Toucans — Gamer's  Toucan. — Of  this  fam- 
ily of  birds,  so  conspicuous  from  the  great 
size  and  light  structure  of  their  beaks,  and 
so  characteristic  of  tropical  American  for- 
ests, five  species  inhabit  the  woods  of  Ega. 
The  commonest  is  Ouvier's  Toucan,  a  large 
bird,  distinguished  from  its  nearest  relatives 
by  the  feathers  at  the  bottom  of  the  back 
being  of  a  saffron  hue  instead  of  red.  It  \f 
found  more  or  less  numerously  throughout 
the  year,  as  it  breeds  iu  the  neighborhood, 
laying  its  eggs  in  holes  of  trees  at  a  great 
height  from  the  ground.  During  most  months 
of  the  year  it  is  met  with  in  single  individu- 
als or  small  flocks,  and  the  birds  are  then 
very  wary.  Sometimes  one  of  these  little 
bands  of  four  or  five  is  seen  perched  for 
hours  together  among  the  topmost  branches 
of  high  trees,  giving  vent  to  their  remarka- 
bly loud,  shrill,  yelping  cries,  one  bird 
mounted  higher  than  the  rest,  acting  appar- 
ently as  leader  of  the  inharmonious  chonw  ; 
but  two  of  them  are  often  heard  yelpiug 
altermitely  and  in  different  notes  These 
cries  have  a  vague  resemblance  to  the  sylla- 
bles Tocano,  Toetano,  and  hence  the  Indian 
name  of  this  geuas  of  birds.  At  these  times 
it  is  difficult  to  get  a  shot  at  Toucans,  for 
their  senses  are  so  sharpened  that  they  descry 
the  hunter  before  he  gets  near  the  tree  on 
which  they  are  perched,  although  he  may  be 
half  concealed  among  the  underwood  150 
feet  below  them.  They  stretch  their  necks 
downward  to  look  beneath,  and  on  espying 
the  least  movement  among  the  foliage,  fly 
off  to  the  more  inaccessible  parts  of  the  for- 
est. Solitary  Toucans  are  sometimes  met 
with  at  the  sanm  season,  hopping  silently  up 
and  down  the  larger  boughs,  and  p  eriug 
into  the  ere  vices  of  tree  trunks.  They  moult 
in  the  mouths  from  March  to  Jun(%  some  in- 
dividuals earlier,  others  later.  This  season, 
p4  euforced.  quiet  being  passed,  they 


756 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


their  appearance  suddenly  iu  the  dry  forest 
near  Ega,  ia  large  flocks,  probably  assem- 
blages of  birds  gathered  together  from  the 
neighboring  Ygapo  forests,  which  are  then 
flooded  and  cold.  The  birds  hare  now  be- 
come exceedingly  tame,  and  the  troops  travel 
with  heavy  laborious  flight  from  bough  to 
bough  among  the  lower  trees.  They  thus 
become  an  easy  prey  to  hunters,  and  every 
one  at  Ega  who  can  get  a  gun  of  any  sort  and 
a  few  charges  of  powder  and  shot,  or  a 
blow-pipe,  goes  daily  to  the  woods  to  kill  a 
few  brace  for  dinner  ;  for,  as  already  ob- 
served, the  people  of  Ega  live  almost  exclu- 
sively on  stewed  and  roasted  Toucans  dining 
the  months  of  June  and  July,  the  birds  being 
then  very  fat,  and  the  meat  exceedingly 
sweet  and  tender. 

No  one  pu  seeing  a  Toucan  can  help  ask- 
ing what  is  the  use  of  the  enormous  bill, 
which,  in  some  species,  attains  a  length  of 
seven  inches,  and  a  width  of  more  than  two 
inches.  A  few  remarks  on  this  subject  may 
be  here  introduced.  The  early  naturalists 
having  seen  only  the  bill  of  a  Toucan,  which 
was  esteemed  as  a  marvellous  production  by 
the  virtuosi  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  concluded  that  the  bird  must  have 
belonged  to  the  aquatic  and  web-footed 
order,  as  this  contains  so  many  species  of  re- 
markable development  of  beak,  adapted  for 
seizing  fish.  Some  travelers  also  related 
fabulous  stories  of  Toucans  resorting  to  the 
banks  of  rivers  to  feed  on  fish,  and  these  ac- 
counts also  encouraged  the  erroneous  views 
of  the  habits  of  the  birds  which  for  a  long 
time  prevailed.  Toucans,  however,  are  now 
well  known  to  be  eminently  arboreal  birds, 
and  to  belong  to  a  group  (including  trogons, 
parrots,  and  barbets  ),  all  of  whose  members 
are  fruit-eaters.  On  the  Amazons,  where 
these  birds  are  very  common,  no  one  pre- 
tends ever  to  have  seen  a  Toucan  walking  on 
the  ground  in  its  natural  state,  much  less 
acting  the  part  of  a  swimming  or  wading 
bird.  Professor  Owen  found,  on  dissection, 
that  the  gizzard  in  Toucans  is  not  so  well 
adapted  for  the  trituration  of  food  as  it  is  in 
other  vegetable  feeders,  and  concluded,  there- 
fore, as  Broderip  had  observed  the  habit  of 
chewing  the  cud  in  a  tame  bird,  that  the 
great  toothed  bill  was  useful  in  holding  and 
re-masticating  the  food.  The  bill  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  be  a  very  good  contriv- 
ance for  seizing  and  crushing  small  birds,  or 
taking  them  from  their  nests  in  crevices  of 
trees,  habits  which  have  been  imputed  to 
Toucans  by  some  writers.  The  hollow,  cel- 
lular structure  of  the  interior  of  the  Mil,  its 
curved  and  clumsy  shape,  and  the  deficiency 
of  force  and  precision  when  it  is  used  to  seize 
objects,  suggest  a  want  of  fitness,  if  this  be 
the  function  of  the  member.  But  fruit  is 
undoubtedly  the  chief  food  of  Toucans,  and 
it  is  in  reference  to  their  mode  of  obtaining 
it  that  the  use  of  their  uncouth  bills  is  to  be 
Bought. 

Flowers  and  fruit  on  the  crowns  of  the 
large  trees  of  South  American  forests  grow 
principally  toward  the  end  of  slender  twigs* 


which  will  not  bear  any  considerable  weight  ^ 
all  atiim  Us,  therefore,  which  feed  upon  food, 
or  on  insects  contained  in  flowers,  must,  of 
course,  hare  some  means  of  reaching  the? 
ends  of  the  stalks  from  a  distance.  Monkty* 
obtain  their  fool  by  stretching  forth  their 
long  arms,  and,  ia  some  instances,  their  tails,, 
to  bring  the  fruit  near  to  their  mouths.. 
Humming-birds  are  endowed  with  highly- 
perfected  organs  of  flight,  with  correspond- 
ing muscular  development,  by  which  they 
are  enabled  to  sustain  themselves  on  the  wing, 
before  blossoms  while  rifling  them  of  their 
contents.  These  (strong-flying  creatures,, 
however,  will,  whenever  they  can  get  near 
enough,  remain  on  their  perches  while  prob- 
ing neighboring  flowers  for  insects.  Trogons- 
have  feeble  wings,  and  a  dull,  inactive  tem- 
peiament.  Their  mode  of  obtaining  food  is- 
to  station  themselves  quietly  on  low  branches^ 
in  the  gloomy  shades  of  the  forest,  and  eye- 
the  fruits  on  the  surrounding  trees,  darting, 
off  as  if  with  an  effort  every  time  they  wish 
to  seize  a  mouthful,  and  returning  to  the- 
same  perch.  Barbets  (Capitoninse)  seem  U> 
have  no  especial  endowment,  either  of  habits^ 
or  structure,  to  enable  them  to  seize  fruits  •„ 
and  in  this  respect  they  are  similar  to  the 
Toucans,  if  we  leave  the  bill  out  of  question, 
both  tribes  having  heavy  bodies,  with  feeble- 
organs  of  flight,  so  that  they  are  disabled 
from  taking  their  food  on  the  wing.  The 
purpose  of  the  enormous  bill  here  becomes, 
evident.  It  is  to  enable  the  Toucan  to  reach 
and  devour  fruit  while  remaining  seated,  aridi 
thus  to  counterbalance  the  disadvantage; 
which  its  heavy  body  and  gluttonous  appe- 
tite would  otherwise  give  it  in  the  competi- 
tion with  allied  groups  of  birds.  The  rela- 
tion between  the  extraordinarily  lengthened 
bill  of  the  Toucan  and  its  mode  of  obtaining: 
food,  is  therefore  precisely  similar  to  that  be- 
tween the  long  neck  and  lips  of  the  Giraffe- 
and  the  mode  of  browsing  of  the  animal. 
The  bill  of  the  Toucan  can  scarcely  be  con- 
sidered a  very  perfectly-formed  instrument 
for  the  end  to  which  it  is  applied,  as  here  ex- 
plained ;  but  nature  appears  not  to  invent 
organs  at  once  for  the  functions  to  which 
they  are  now  adapted,  but  avails  herself, 
here  of  one  already-existing  structure  or  in- 
stinct, there  of  another,  according  as  they 
are  handy  when  need  for  their  further  modi- 
fication arises. 

One  day  while  walking  along  the  principal' 
pathway  in  the  woods  near  Ega,  I  saw  on& 
of  these  Toucans  seated  gravely  on  a  low~ 
branch  close  to  the  road,  and  had  no  difficulty 
iu  seizing  it  with  my  hand.  It  turned  out  to» 
be  a  runaway  pet  bird  ;  no  one,  however,, 
came  to  own  it,  although  I  kept  it  in  my 
house  for  several  months.  The  bird  was  ia 
a  half-starved  and  sickly  condition,  but  after 
a  few  days  of  good  living  it  recovered  healthi 
and  spirits,  and  became  one  of  the  most, 
amusing  pets  imaginable.  Many  excellent 
accounts  of  the  habits  of  tame  Toucans  have 
been  published,  and  therefore  I  need  not  de- 
scribe them  in  detail,  but  I  do  not  recollect 
.  to  have  seen  any  notice  of  their  intelligence 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


757 


=and  confiding  disposition  under  domestiea- 
tton,  in  which  qualities  my  pet  seemed  to  be 
almost  equal  to  parrots.  I  allowed  Tocano 
to  go  free  about  the  house,  contrary  to  my 
visual  practice  with  pet  animals  ;  he  never, 
.however,  mounted  my  working-table  after  a 
,  smart  correction  which  he  received  the  first 
time  he  did  so.  He  used  to  sleep  on  the  top 
><>f  a  box  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  in  the  usual 
position  of  these  birds,  namely,  with  the  long 
•tail  laid  right  over  on  the  back,  and  the  beak 
:th  rust  underneath  the  wing.  He  ate  of  every- 
thing  that  we  eat,  beef,  turtle,  fish,  farinha, 
fiuit,  and  was  a  constant  attendant  at  our 
'table  —  a  cloth  spread  on  a  mat.  His  appe- 
tite  was  most  ravenous,  and  his  powers  of 
•digestion  quite  wonderful.  He  got  to  kiiow 
the  meal  hours  to  a  nicety,  and  we  found  it 
very  difficult,  after  the  first  week  or  two,  to 
"keep  him  away  from  the  dining-room,  where 
Hie  had  become  very  impudent  and  trouble- 
rsome.  We  tried  to  shut  him  out  by  inclos- 
ing  him  in  the  back  yaid,  which  was  sepa- 
THtert  by  a  high  fence  from  the  street  on 
whioh  our  front  door  opened,  but  he  used  to 
.climb  the  fence  and  hop  round  by  a  long  cir- 
*-uit  to  the  dining-room,  making  his  appear- 
mnce  with  the  greatest  punctuality  as  the 
•meal  was  placed  on  the  table.  He  acquired 
<he  habit  afterward  of  rambling  about  the 
street  near  our  house,  and  one  day  he  was 
stolen,  so  we  gave  him  up  for  lost.  But  two 
days  afterward  he  stepped  through  the  open 
•doorway  at  dinner-hour,  with  his  old  gait 
rand  sly,  magpie-like  expression,  having  es- 
™ped  from  the  house  where  he  had  been 
guarded  by  the  person  who  had  stolen  him, 
iand  which  was  situated  at  Mie  fuither  end  of 
the  village 

The  Curl-crested  Tovcan  (Pterogtossus  Beau- 
•Jiarnami).—  Of  lire  four  smaller  Toucans,  or 
Arassaris,  found  near  Ega,  the  Pteroglossus 
flavirostris  is  perhaps  the  must  beautiful  in 
-colors,  its  breast  being  adorned  with  broad 
belts  of  rich  crimson  and  black;  but  the 
imost  curious  species  by  far  is  the  Curl- 
.crested,  or  Beaunaraais  Toucan.  The 
if  eat  hers  on  the  head  of  this  singular  bird  are 
transformed  into  thin  horny  plates,  of  a 
lustrous  black  color,  curled  up  at  the  ends, 
.and  resembling  shavings  of  steel  or  ebony 
wood,  the  curly  ciest  being  ananged  on  the 
,cn.wn  in  the  fo.m  of  a  wig.  Mr.  Wallace 
rand  1  fi«  st.  met  with  this  species  on  ascending 
-.the  Amazons,  at  the  mouth  of  fheSolimoeus  ; 
,'frcm  that  point  it  continues  «s  a  rather 
.common  l;ird  on  the  tena  rirma,  at  least  on 
•the  south  side  of  the  river,  as  far  as  Fonte 
B*.a,  but  I  did  not  hear  of  its  being  found 
further  to  the  west  It  appears  in  lanre 
ifloeks  in  the  forests  near  Ega  in  May  and 
June,  when  it  has  completed  its  moult.  1 
did  not  find  these  bands  congregated  at  fruit 
tuees,  but  always  wandering  through  the  for- 
•est,  hopping  from  branch  to  branch  among 
In*  lower  trees,  and  partly  concealed  among 
the  foliage.  None  of  theArassaris  to  my 
knowledge  make  a  yelping  noise  like  that 
uttered  by  the  larger  Toucans  (Ramphastos)  ; 
the  notes  of  Uie  cuJ-crested  species  are  very 


singular,  resembling  the  croaking  of  frogs. 
1  had  an  amusing  adventure  one  day  with 
these  birds.  1  had  shot  one  from  a  rather 
high  tree  in  a  daik  glen  in  the  forest,  and  en« 
tered  the  thicket  where  the  bird  had  fallen  to 
secure  my  booty.  It  was  only  wounded, 
and  on  my  attempting  to  seize  it,  set  up  a 
loud  scream.  In  an  instant,  as  if  by  magic, 
the  shady  uook  seemed  alive  with  these 
birds,  although  there  was  certainly  none  visi- 
ble  when  I  entered  the  jungle.  They  de- 
sceuded  toward  me,  hopping  from  bough  to 
bough,  some  of  them  swinging  on  the  loops 
and  cables  of  woody  lianas,  and  all  croaking 
and  fluttering  their  wings  like  so  many 
furies.  If  1  had  had  a  long  stick  in  my 
hand,  I  could  have  knocked  several  of  them 
over.  After  killiug  the  wounded  one,  I  be- 
gan  to  prepare  for  obtaining  more  specimens 
and  punishing  the  viragoes  tor  their  boldness  ; 
but  the  screaming  of  their  companion  having 
ceased,  they  remounted  the  trees,  and  before 
I  could  reload  every  one  of  them  had  disap- 
peared. 

_  T_  .       f  . 

/««*•.—  Upward  of  7000  species  of  insecte 
were  found  m  the  neighborhood  of  Lga.  1 
mast  confine  myself  in  this  place  to  a  few 
remarks  on  the  order  Lepidoptera  ,  and  on 
the  ants  several  kinds  of  which  found  chiefly 
on  the  Upp^r  Amazons,  exhibit  the  most  ex- 
train!  m*ry  instincts. 

I  found  about  5oO  distinct  species  of  ^  but- 
terflies  at  Ega.  Those  who  know  a  little  of 
Entomology  will  be  able  to  form  some  idea 
^  the  r'c»es  of  the  place  m  this  department 
when  I  mention  that  eighteen  species  of  true 
P»P>  i°  (&*  swallow-tail  genus)  were  found 
within  ten  minutes'  walk  of  my  house.  No 
fact  could  speak  more  plainly  for  the  sur- 
passing  exuberance  of  the  vegetation,  the 
varied  nature  of  the  land,  the  perenma 
warmth  and  humidity  of  the  climate.  But 
no  description  can  convey  an  adequate  notion 
of  the  beauty  and  diversity  in  form  and  color 
of  this  class  of  insects  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Ega.  I  paid  especial  attention  to  them, 
having  f<mad  that  this  tribe  was  batter 
adapted  than  almost  any  other  group  of  am- 
nials  or  plants,  to  furnish  facts  m  illustration 
of  the  modifications  which  ad  species  under- 
go in  nature  uudefr  changed  local  conditions. 
Thi.s  accidental  superiority  is  owing  partly 
to  the  simplicity  and  distinctness  of  the  spe- 
ciflc  characters  of  the  insects,  aud  partly  to 
the  facility  with  which  very  copious  series 
of  specimens  can  be  collected  and  placed  side 
by  side  for  comparison  The  distinctness  of 
the  specific  characters  is  due  probao  y  to  the 
fact  that  all  the  superficial  signs  of  change  m 
the  organization  are  exaggerated  and  made 
unusually  plain  by  affecting  the  framework, 
shape,  and  color  of  the  wings,  which,  as 
uian^y  anatomists  believe,  are  magnified  ex- 
tensions  of  the  skin  around  the  breathing 
orifices  of  the  thorax  of  the  insects.  These 
expansions  are  clothed  with  minute  feathers 
or  scales,  colored  in  regular  palterris,  which 
vary  in  accordance  with  the  slightest  cliunge 
"*  the  conditions  to  which  the  specie?  aro  «*• 


758  THE  NATURALIST  ON  TTTE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 

posed.  It  may  be  said,  therefore,  that  on  stick,  and  so  made  tubes  similar  to  those  A 
these  expanded  membranes  nature  writes,  as  caddice-  worms  ;  others  (Saecophora)  chose 
on  a  tablet,  the  story  of  the  modifications  of  leaves  for  the  same  purpose,  forming  wit  a 
species,  so  truly  do  all  changes  of  the  organi-  them  an  elongated  bag  o^en  at  both  ends,, 
zation  register  themselves  thereon.  More-  and  having  the  inside  lined  with  a  thick  web. 
over,  the  same  color-patterns  of  the  wings  The  tubes  of  full-grown  caterpillars  of  Sac- 
generally  show,  with  great  regularity,  the  cophora  are  two  inches  in  length,  and  it  is  at 
degrees  of  blood  relationship  of  the  species,  this  stage  of  growth  that  I  nave  generally 
As  the  laws  of  nature  must  be  the  same  for  seen  them.  They  feed  on  the  leaves  of 
all  beings,  the  conclusions  furnished  by  this  Melastomae,  and  as  in  crawling  the  weight 
group  of  insects  must  be  applicable  to  the  of  so  large  a  dwelling  would  be  greater  than 
whole  organic  world  ;  therefore  the  study  of  the  contained  caterpillar  could  sustain,  the 
butterflies — creatures  selected  as  the  types  of  insect  attaches  the  case,  by  one  or  more 
airiness  and  frivolity  —  instead  of  being  threads,  to  the  leaves  or  twigs  near  which  it 
despised,  will  some  day  be  valued  as  one  of  is  feeding. 
the  most  important  branches  of  biological 

science.  Foraging  Ants.  — Many  con  fused  statemen  t  s- 

Before  proceeding  to  describe  the  ants,  a  have  been  published  in  books  of  travel  ami 
few  remarks  may  be  made  on  the  singular  copied  in  natural  history  works  regarding; 
cases  and  cocoons  woven  by  the  caterpillars  these  ants,  which  appear  to  have  been  con- 
t>f  certain  moths  found  at  Ega.  The  first  founded  with  the  Satiba,  a  sketch  of  whose- 
that  may  be  mentioned  is  one  of  the  most  habits  has  been  given  in  the  first  chapter  of 
beautiful  examples  of  insect  workmanship  I  this  work.  The  Saliba  is  a  vegetable  feeder, 
ever  saw.  It  is  a  cocoon,  about  the  size  of  and  does  not  attack  other  animals ;  the  ac- 
u  sparrow's  egg,  woven  b\r  a  caterpillar  in  counts  that  have  been  published  regarding 
broad  meshes  of  either  buff  or  rose  -colored  carnivorous  ants  which  hunt  in  vast  armies, 
silk,  and  is  frequently  seen  in  the  narrow  exciting  terror  wherever  they  go,  apply  only- 
alleys  of  the  forest,  suspended  from  the  ex-  to  the  Ecitous,  or  foraging  ants,  a  totally  dif- 
tremti  tip  of  an  outstanding  leaf  by  a  strong  flerent  group  of  this  tribe  of  insects.  Th& 
silken  thread  five  or  sU  inches  in  length,  it  Ecitons  are  called  Tauoca  by  the  Indians, 
forms  a  very  conspicuous  object,  hanging  ^ho  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  their 
thus  in  mid-air.  The  glossy  threads  with  armies  when  they  traverse  the  forest,  so  as 
which  it  is  knitted  are  stout,  and  the  structure  to  avoid  being  attacked.  I  met  with  ten  dis- 
Is  therefore  not  liable  10  be  torn  by  the  beaks  tinct  species  of  them,  nearly  all  of  which 
of  insectivorous  birds,  while  its  pendulous  have  a  different  system  of  marching  ;  eight 
position  makes  it  doubly  secure  against  their  were  new  to  science  when  I  sent  them  to- 
attacks,  the  apparatus  giving  way  when  they  England.  Some  are  found  commonly  in- 
peck  at  it.  There  is  a  smaFl  orifice  at  each  every  part  of  the  country,  and  one  is  peculiar 
end  of  the  egg-shaped  bag,  to  admit  of  the  to  the  open  campos  of  Santarem  ;  but.  a* 
sscape  ot  the  moth  when  it  changes  from  the  nearly  all  the  species  are  found  together  at 
little  chrysalis  which  sleeps  tranquilly  in  its  Ega,  where  the  forest  swarmed  with  their 
any  cage.  The  moth  is  of  a  dull  slaty  color,  armies,  I  have  left  an  account  of  the  habits 
and  belongs  to  the  Lithosiide  groupe  of  the  °/  the  whole  genus  for  this  part  of  my  narra* 
Bilk-worm  family  (Bombycida).  When  the  tive.  The  Ecitons  resemble  in  their  habits 
caterpillar  begins  its  work,  it  lets  itself  down  the  Driver  ants  of  tropical  Africa  ;  but  they 
from  the  tip  of  the  leaf  which  it  has  chosen,  have  no  close  relationship  with  them  hi 
by  spinning  a  thread  of  silk,  the  thickness  of  structure,  and  indeed  belong  to  quite  another 
which  it  slowly  increases  as  it  descends,  sub-group  of  the  ant  tribe. 
Having  given  the  proper  length  to  the  cord,  Like  many  other  ants,  the  communities  of 
it  proceeds  to  weave  its  elegant  bag,  placing  Ecitons  are  composed,  besides  males  aad  fe- 
itself  in  the  centre  and  spinning  ring's  of  silk  males,  of  two  classes  of  workers,  a  large- 
at  regular  intervals,  connecting  them  at  the  headed  (worker-major)  and  a  small-headed 
same  time,  by  means  of  cross-threads  ;  so  that  (worker-minor)  class  ;  the  large-heads  have- 
the  whole,  when  finished,  forms  a  loose  web,  in  some  species  greatly  lengthened  jaws,  the* 
with  quadrangular  meshes  of  nearly  equal  small-heads  have  jaws  always  of  the  ordinary 
size  throughout.  The  task  occupies  about  shape  ;  but  the  two  classes  are  not  sharpjy 
four  days.  When  finished,  the  enclosed  cater-  defined  in  structure  and  function,  except  ir* 
pillar  becomes  sluggish,  its  skin  shrivels  and  two  of  the  species.  There  is  in  all  of  them 
cracks,  and  there  then  remains  a  motionless  »  little  difference  among  the  workers  repaid 
chrysalis  of  narrow  shape,  leaning  against  ing  the  size  of  the  head  ;  but  in  some  species 
the  sides  of  its  silken  cage.  this  is  mot  sufficient  to  cause  a  separation 

Many  other  kinds  are  found  at  Ega  be-  into  classes,  with  division  of  labor  ;  in  others 
longing  to  the  same  cocoon-weuving  family,  the  jaws  are  so  monstrously  lengthened  in 
§ome  of  which  differ  from  the  res>t  in  then  the  worker-majors,  that  they  are  incapaci- 
caterpillars  possessing  the  art  of  fabricating  tated  for  taking-part  in  the  labors  which  the 
cases  with  fragments  of  wood  or  leaves,  in  worker- minors  perform  ;  and  again,  ia 
which  they  lije  secure  from  all  enemies  while  others  the  difference  is  so  great  that"  the  dis,- 
they  are  feeding  and  growing.  I  saw  manj  tinction  of  classes  becomes  complete,  one 
species  of  these  ;  some  of  them  knitted  to-  .cling  the  part  of  soldiers,  and  the  other  that 
fether,  with  fine  silken  threads,  small  bils^^.J.  -workers.  The  peculiar  featuie  in  th* 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


liabits  of  the  Eciton  genus  is  their  hunting 
for  prey  in  regular  bodies  or  armies.  It  is 
Iliis  which  chiefly  distinguishes  them  from 
Ihe  genus  of  common  red  stinging  ants,  sev- 
<-ial  species  of  which  inhabit  England,  whose 
Jiabit  is  to  search  for  food  in  the  usual  irregu- 
J:ir  manner.  All  the  Ecitons  hunt  in  large, 

<  rganized  bodies  ;  but  almost  every  species 
lias  its  own  special  manner  of  hunting. 

Eciton  rapax. — One  of  the  foragers,  Eciton 
mpnx,  the  giant  of  its  genus,  whc.se  worker- 
majors  are  half  an  inch  in  length,  hunts  in 
single  file  through  the  forest.  There  is  no 
division  into  classes  among  its  workers, 
3ilt hough  the  difference  in  size  is  very  great, 
s-ome  being  scarcely  crie  half  the  length  of 

<  thers.     The  head  and  jaws,  however,  are 
always  of  the  same  shape,  and  a  gradation  in 
*  ze   is   presented   from   the  largest   to  the 
smallest,  so  that  all  are  able  to  take  part  in 
Ihe  common  labors  of  the  colony.    The  chief 
employment  of  the  species  seems  to  be  plun- 
dering the  nests  of  a  large  and  defenceless 
tint  of  another  genus  (Formica),  whose  man- 
gled bodies  I  have  often  seen  ID  th?;r  posses- 
sion  as   they  were  marching  away.      The 
a!  mies  of  Eciton  rapax  are  never  very  nu- 
merous. 

Eciton  legionis. — Another  species,  E.  le- 
gionis,  ngrees  with  E.  rapax  in  having 
v»  orkers  not  rigidly  divisible  into  two  classes ; 
but  it  is  much  smaller  in  size,  not  differing 
greatly  in  this  respect  fiom  our  common 
English  red  ant  'My i mica  rubra),  which  it 
also  resembles  in  color.  The  Ecitou  legicnis 
!ives  in  open  places,  and  was  seen  only  on 
jhe  sandy  campos  ot  Santarcm.  The  move- 
ments ofits  hosis  were,  therefore,  much  more 
rasy  to  observe  than  those  cf  nil  other  kinds, 
ivhich  inhabit  solely  the  densest  thickets  ;  its 
mug  and  bite  also  were  less  formidable  than 
ihose  of  other  species.  The  armies  of  E.  le- 
gionis consist  of  many  thousands  of  indi- 
riduals,  and  move  in  rather  broad  columns. 
They  are  just  as  quick  to  break  line  on  being 
disturbed,  and  attack  hurriedly  and  furiously 
any  intruding  object,  as  the  other  Ecitous. 
The  species  is  not  a  common  one;,  and  I  sel- 
dom had  good  opportunities  of  watching  its 
habits.  The  first  time  I  saw  an  army  was  one 
evening  near  sunset.  The  column  consist- 
ed of  two  trains  of  ants,  moving  in  opposite 
directions  ;  one  train  empty-handed,  the  other 
laden  with  the  mangled  remains  of  insects, 
chiefly  larvae  and  pupae  of  other  ants.  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  tracing  the  line  to  the  si  ot 
from  which  they  were  conveying  their 
booty  ;  this  was  a  low  thicket ;  the  Ecitons 
were  moving  rapidly  about  a  heap  of  dead 
leaves  ;  but  as  the  short  tropical  twilight  was 
deepening  rapidly,  and  I  had  no  wish  to  be 
iMjnighted  on  the  lonely  campos,  1  deferred 
further  examination  until  the  next  day. 

On  the  following  morning  no  trace  of  ants 
could  be  found  near  the  place  where  I  had 
seen  them  the  preceding  day,  nor  were  there 
signs  of  insects  of  any  description  in  the 
thicket ;  but  at  the  distance  of  eighty  or  one 
hundred  yards,  I  came  upon  the  same  u 


engaged  evidently  on  a  razzia  of  a  similar 
kind  to  that  of  the  previous  evening,  but 
requiring  othnr  resources  of  their  instinct, 
owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground.  They 
were  eagerly  occupied  on  1  he  face  of  an  in- 
clined bauk  of  light  eartli  in  excavating 
mines,  whence,  from  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten 
inches,  they  were  extracting  the  bodies  of  a 
bulky  species  of  ant  of  Uie  genus  Formica. 
It  was  curious  to  see  them  crowding  round 
the  orifices  of  the  mines,  some  assisting  their 
comrades  to  lift  out  the  bodies  of  the  For- 
mica3,  and  others  tearing  them  in  pieces,  on 
account  of  their  weight  being  too  great  for  a 
single  Eciton,  a  number  of  carriers  seizing 
each  a  fragment  and  carrying  it  off  down  the 
slope  Oa  digging  into  the  earth  with  a 
small  trowel  near  the  entrance  of  the  mines, 
1 -found  the  nests  of  the  Fonnicae,  with  grubs 
and  cocoons,  which  the  Ecitms  were  thus 
invading,  at  a  depth  of  about  eight  inches 
from  the  surface.  The  eager  freebooters 
rushed  in  as  fast  as  I  excavated,  and  seized 
the  ants  in  my  finders  as  I  picked  them  out, 
so  that  I  had  some  difficulty  in  rescuing  a 
few  entire  for  specimens.  In  digging  1»j8 
numerous  mines  to  get  at  their  prey,  the  ia- 
tie  Ecitons  seemed  to  be  divided  into  parties, 
one  set  excavating  and  another  set  carrying 
away  the  grains  of  earth.  When  the  shafts 
became  rather  deep,  the  mining  parties  had 
1o  climb  up  the  sides  each  time  they  wished 
to  cast  out  a  pellet  of  earth  ;  but  their  work 
was  lightened  for  them  by  comrades,  who 
stationed  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the 
shaft,  and  relieve!  them  of  their  burdens, 
carrying  the  particles,  with  an  appearance 
of  foresight  which  quite  staggered  me,  a 
sufficient  distance  from  the  edge  of  the  hole 
to  prevent  them  from  rolling  in  again.  All 
the  work  seemed  thus  to  be  performed  by 
intelligent  co-operation  among  the  host  of 
eager  little  creatures  ;  but  still  there  was  not 
a  rigid  division  of  labor,  for  some  of  them, 
whose  proceedings  I  watched,  acted  at  one 
time  as  carriers  of  pellets,  and  at  another  aa 
miners,  and  all  shortly  afterward  assumed 
the  office  of  conveyers  of  the  spoil. 

In  about  two  hours  all  the  nests  of  For- 
miese  were  rifled,  though  not  completely,  of 
their  contents,  and  I  turned  toward  the  army 
of  Ecitons,  which  were  carrying  away  the 
mutilated  remains.  For  some  distance  there 
were  many  separate  limes  of  them  moving 
along  the  slope  of  the  bank  ;  but  a  short  dis- 
tance off  these  all  converged,  and  then  formed 
one  close  and  broad  column,  which  continued 
for  some  sixty  or  seventy  yards,  and  termi- 
nated at  one  of  those  large  termitariums  or 
hillocks  of  white  ants  which  are  constructed 
of  cemented  material  as  hard  as  stone.  The 
broad  and  compact  column  of  ants  moved  up 
the  steep  sides  of  the  hillock  in  a  continued 
stream  ;  many  which  had  hitherto  trotted 
along  empty  handed,  now  turned  to  assist 
their  comrades  with  their  heavjr  loads,  and 
the  whole  descended  into  a  spacious  gallery 
or  mine  opening  on  the  top  or  the  termitari- 
um,  I  did  not  try  to  reach  the  nest  which 


760          .  THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS, 

I  supposed  to  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  broad  trees,  and  therefore  the  nestlings  of  birds  are 
mine,  and  therefore  in  the  middle  of  the  base  not  much  incommoded  by  them.  The  mode?, 
of  the  stony  hillock.  of  operation  of  these  armies,  which  I  ascer- 

Eciton drepanophora.—The commonest  spe-  tained  only  after  lung-continued  observation^ 
cies  of  foraging  ants  are  the  Eciton  hamata  is  as  follows.  The  main  column,  from  four 
and  E.  drepanophora,  two  kinds  which  re-  to  six  deep,  moves  forward  in  a  given  dircc- 
semble  each  other  so  closely  that  it  requires  tion,  clearing  the  ground  of  att  animal  mat- 
attentive  examination  to  distinguish  them  ;  ter,  dead  or  alive,  and  throwing  off  here  and 
yet  their  armies  never  intermingle,  although  there  a  thinner  column  to  forage  for  a  short. 
moving  in  the  same  woods  and  of  ten  crossing  time  on  the  flanks  of  the  main  armv,  and  ie- 
each  other's  tracks.  The  two  classes  of  enter  it  again  after  their  task  ^accomplished. 
workers  look,  at  first  sight,  quite  distinct,  on  If  some  very  rich  place  be  encountered  auy- 
account  of  the  wonderful  amount  of  differ-  where  near  the  line  of  mareh— for  example,  a. 
ence  between  the  largest  individuals  of  the  mass  of  rotten  wood  abounding  in  insect, 
one,  and  the  smallest  of  the  other.  There  larvae— a  delay  takes  place,and  a  very  strong 
are  dwarfs  not  more  than  one  fifth  of  an  inch  force  of  ants  is  concentrated  upon  it.  The 
in  length,  with  small  heads  and  jaws,  and  excited  creatures  search  every  cranny  and 
giants  half  an  inch  in  length,  with  mon-  tear  in  pieces  all  the  large  grubs  they  drag  to- 
strously  enlarged  head  and  jaws,  all  belong-  light.  It  is  curious  to  see  them  attack. 
ing  to  the  same  brood.  There  is  not,  how-  wasps'  nests,  which  are  sometimes,  built  on. 
ever,  a  distinct  separation  of  classes,  indi-  low  shrubs.  They  gnaw  away  the  papery 
viduals  existing  which  connect  together  the  covering  to  get  at  the  larvae^  pupae,  and: 
two  extremes.  These  Ecitons  are  seen  in  the  newly  -hatched  wasps,  and  cut  everything  to- 
pathways  of  the  forest  at  all  places  on  the  tatters,  regardless  of  the  infuriated  owners, 
banks  of  the  Amazons,  traveling  in  dense  which  are  flying  about  them,  la  bearing  oft 
columns  of  countless  thousands.  One  or  their  spoil  in  fragments,  the  pieces  are  ap- 
other  of  them  is  sure  to  be  met  with  in  a  portioned  to  the  carriers  with  some  degree  of" 
woodland  ramble,  and  it  is  to  them,  proba-  regard  to  fairness  of  load,  the  dwarf  staking; 
bly,  that  the  stories  we  read  in  books  on  the  smallest  pieces,  and  the  strongest  fellows- 
South  America  apply,  of  ants  clear  ing  houses  with  small  heads  the  heaviest  portions, 
of  vermin,  although 
of  their  entering  hou 
confined  to  the  thickest  ^ 

When  the  pedestrian  falls  in  with  a  train  tated  from  taking  any  part  in  the  labor.  The- 
of  these  ants,  the  first  signal  given  him  is  a  armies  never  march  far  on  a  beaten  path,  but 
twittering  and  restless  movement  of  small  seem  to  prefer  the  entangled  thickets,  where- 
flocks  of  plain-colored  birds  (ant  thrushes)  in  it  is  seldom  possible  to  follow  them.  I  have- 
the  jungle.  If  this  be  disregarded  until  he  traced  an  army  sometimes  for  half  a  mile  or 
advances  a  few  steps  farther,  he  is  sure  to  more,  but  was  never  able  to  find  one  that 
fall  into  trouble,  and  find  himself  suddenly  had  finished  its  day's  course- and  returned  to. 
attacked  by  numbers  of  the  ferocious  little  its  hive.  Indeed,  I  never  met  with  a  hive  v 
creatures.  They  swarm  up  his  legs  with  in-  *  whenever  the  Ecitous  were  seen  they  were- 
credible  rapidity,  each  one  driving  its  pincer-  always  on  the  march, 

like  jaws  into  his  skin,  and  with  the  purchase  i  thought  one  d&y,  at  Villa  Nova,  that  I 
thus  obtained,  doubling  in  its  tail  and  stinging  bad  come  upon  a  migratory  horde  of  this  in- 
with  all  its  might.  There  is  no  course  left  defatigable  ant  The;  place  was  a  tract  of 
but  to  run  for  it ;  if  he  is  accompanied  by  open  ground  near  the  river  side,  just  outsidee 
natives,  they  will  be  sure  to  give  the  alarm,  the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  surrounded  by 
cryinit,  "  Tauoca  1"  and  scampering  at  full  rocks  and  shrubbery.  A  dense-  column  of 
speed  to  the  other  end  of  the  column  of  ants.  Ecitons  was  seen  extending  from  the  rocks 
The  tenacious  insects  who  have  secured  bn  one  side  of  the  little  haven,  traversing  the 
themselves  to  his  legs  then  have  to  be  plucked  open  space,  and  ascending  the  opposite  de- 
off  one  by  one,  a  task  which  is  generally  not  clivity.  The  length  of  the  procession  was- 
accomplished  without  pulling  them  in  twain,  from  sixty  to  seventy  yards,  and  yet  neither 
and  leaving  heads  and  jaws  sticking  in  the  van  nor  rear  was  visible.  All  were  moving 
wounds.  in  one  and  the  same  direction,  except  a  few 

The  errand  of  the  vast  ant-armies  is  plun-  individuals  OH  the  outside  of  t&e  column,, 
der,  as  in  the  case  of  Eciton  legionis  ;  but  which  were  running  rearward,  trotting  along 
from  their  moving  always  among  dense  for  a  short  distance,  and  then  turning  again 
thickets  their  proceedings  are  not  so  easy  to  to  follow  the  same  course  as  the  main  body, 
observe  as  in  that  species.  Wherever  they  But  these  rearward  movements  Were  going: 
move,  the  whole  animal  world  is  set  in  corn-  on  continually  from  one  end  to  the  other  of 
motion,  and  every  creature  tries  to  get  out  of  the  line,  and  there  was  every  appearance  of" 
their  way.  But  it  is  especially  the  various  this  being  a  means  of  keeping  up  a  common: 
tribes  of  winged  insects  that  have  cause  for  understanding  among  all  the  members  of  the- 
fear,  such  as  heavy  bodied  spiders,  ants  of  army,  for  the  retrograding  ants  stopped  veiy 
other  species,  maggots,  caterpillars,  larva?  of  often  for  a  moment  to  touch  one  or  ether  of 
cockroaches,  and  so  forth,  all  of  which  live  their  onward-moving  comrades  with  their 
under  fallen  leaves,  or  in  decaying  wood,  antennas,  a  proceeding  which  has  been  ne- 
The  Ecitons  do  not  mount  very  high  on,. triced  in  other  ants,  and  supposed  to  be  their 


THE  JTATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  "AMAZONS. 


761 


mode  of  conveying  intelligence.  When  I 
interfered  with  the  column  or  abstracted  an 
individual  from  it,  news  of  the  disturbance 
"was  very  quickly  communicated  to  a  dis- 
tance of  several  yards  toward  the  rear,  and 
the  column  at  that  point  commenced  retreat- 
ing. All  the  small-headed  workers  carried 
in  their  jaws  a  little  cluster  of  white  mag- 
gots, which  I  thought  at  the  time  might  be 
joung  larvsB  of  their  own  colony,  but  after- 
ward found  reason  to  conclude  were  the 
gruhs  of  some  other  species  whose  nests  they 
had  been  plundering,  the  procession  being 
most  likely  not  a  migration,  but  a  column  on 
a.  marauding  expedition. 

The  position  of  the  large  headed  individuals 
in  the  marching  column  was  rather  curious. 
There  was  one  of  these  extraordinary  fellows 
lo  about  a  score  of  the  smaller  class  ;  none 
of  them  carried  anything  in  their  mouths, 
but  all  trotted  along  empty-handed  and  out- 
side of  the  column,  at  pretty  regular  inter- 
vals from  each  other,  like  subaltern  officers 
in  a  marching  regiment  of  soldiers.  It  was 
<>asy  to  be  tolerably  exact  in  this  observation, 
for  their  shining  white  heads  made  them 
very  conspicuous  among  the  rest,  bobbing 
wp  and  down  as  the  column  passed  over  the 
inequalities  of  the  road.  I  did  not  see  them 
change  their  position  or  take  any  notice  of 
their  small-headed  comrades  marching  in 
die  column,  and  when  I  disturbed  the  line 
(hey  did  not  prance  forth  or  show  fight  so 
eagerly  as  the  others.  These  large-headed 
members  of  the  community  have  been  con- 
sidered by  some  authois  as  a  soldier  class, 
like  the  similarly-armed  caste  in  Termites  ; 
but  I  found  no  proof  of  this,  at  least  in  the 
present  species,  as  they  always  seemed  to  be 
rather  less  pugnacious  than  the  worker- 
minors,  and  their  distorted  jaws  disabled 
them  from  fastening  on  a  plane  surface  like 
the  skin  of  an  attacking  animal.  I  am  in- 
clined, however,  to  think  that  they  may  act, 
in  a  less  direct  way,  as  protectors  of  the  com- 
munity, namely,  as  indigestible  morsels  to 
the  flocks  of  ant-thrushes  which  follow  the 
marching  columns  of  these  Ecitons,  and  are 
the  most  formidable  enemies  of  the  species. 
It  is  possible  that  the  hooked  and  twisted 
jaws  of  the  large-headed  class  may  be  effec- 
tive weapons  of  annoyance  when  in  the  giz- 
zards or  stomachs  of  these  birds,  but  I  unfor- 
tunately omitted  to  ascertain  whether  this 
was  really  the  fact. 

The  life  of  these  Ecitons  is  not  all  work, 
i'or  I  frequently  saw  them  very  leisurely  em  • 
ployed  in  a  way  that  looked  like  recreation. 
When  this  happened,  the  place  was  always  a 
sunny  nook  in  the  forest.  The  main  colum  * 
of  the  army  and  the  branch  columns,  at  these 
times,  were  in  their  ordinary  relative  posi- 
tions ;  but  instead  of  pressing  forward  eager- 
ly, and  plundering  right  and  left,  they 
seemed  to  have  been  all  smitten  with  a  sud- 
den fit  of  laziness.  Some  were  walking 
slowly  about,  others  were  brushing  their  an- 
tenna with  their  fore  feet ;  but  the  drollest 
sight  was  their  cleaning  one  another.  Here 
and  there  an  ant  was  seen  stretching  forth 
first  one  leg  and  then  another,  to  be  brushed 


and  washed  by  one  or  more  of  its  comrades, 
who  performed  the  task  by  passing  the  limb 
between  the  jaws  and  the  tongue,  fini&iug 
by  giving  the  antennae  a  friendly  wipe.  It 
was  a  curious  spectacle,  and  one  well  calcu- 
lated to  increase  one's  amazement  at  the 
similarity  between  the  instinctive  actions  of 
ants  and  the  acts  of  rational  beings,  a  simi- 
larity which  must  have  been  brought  about 
by  two  different  processes  of  development  of 
the  primary  qualities  of  mind.  The  actions 
of  these  ants  looked  like  simple  indulgence 
in  idle  amusement.  Have  these  little  crea- 
tures, then,  an  excess  of  energy  beyond  what 
is  required  for  labors  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  welfare  of  their  species,  and  do  they  thus 
expend  it  in  mere  sportiveness,  like  young 
lambs  or  kittens,  or  in  idle  whims  like 
rational  beings?  It  is  probable  that  these 
hours  of  relaxation  and  cleaning  may  be  in- 
dispensable to  the  effective  performance  of 
their  harder  labors  ;  but  while  looking  at 
them,  the  conclusion  that  the  ants  were  en- 
gaged merely  in  play  was  irresistible 

Eciton  prwdator. — This  is  a  small  dark-red- 
dish species,  very  similar  to  the  common  red 
stinging  ant  of  England.  It  differs  from  all 
other  Ecitons  in  its  habit  of  hunting,  not  in 
columns,  but  in  dense  phalanxes  consisting 
of  myriads  of  individuals,  and  was  first  met 
with  at  Ega,  where  it  is  very  common. 
Nothing  in  insect  movements  is  more  striking 
than  the  rapid  march  of  these  large  and  com- 
pact bodies.  Wherever  they  pass,  all  the 
rest  of  the  animal  world  is  thrown  into  a 
state  of  alarm.  They  stream  along  the 
ground  and  climb  to  the  summits  of  all  the 
lv)wer  trees,  searching  every  leaf  to  its  apex, 
and  whenever  they  encounter  a  mass  of  de- 
caying vegetable  matter,  where  booty  is  plen- 
tiful, they  concentrate,  like  other  Ecitons, 
all  their  forces  upon  it,  the  dense  phalanx  of 
shining  and  quickly-moving  bodies,  as  it 
spreads  over  the  surface,  looking  like  a  Hood 
of  dark-red  liquid.  They  soon  penetrate 
every  part  of  the  confused  heap,  and  then, 
gathering  together  again  in  marching  order, 
onward  they  move.  All  soft-bodied  and  in- 
active insects  fall  an  easy  prey  to  them,  and, 
like  other  Ecitons,  they  tear  their  victims  in 
pieces  for  facility  of  carriage.  A  phalanx  of 
this  species,  when  passing  over  a  tract  of 
smooth  ground,  occupies  a  space  of  from 
four  to  six  square  yards  ;  on  examining  the 
ants  closely  they  are  seen  to  move,  net  alto- 
gether in  one  straightforward  direction,  but 
in  variously  spreading  contiguous  columns, 
now  separating  a  little  from  the  general  mass, 
now  reuniting  with  it.  The  margins  of  the 
phalanx  spread  out  at  times  like  a  cloud  of 
skirmishers  from  the  flanks  of  an  army.  I 
was  never  able  to  find  the  hive  of  this  spe- 
cies. 

Blind  Ecitons. — I  will  now  give  a  short  ac- 
count of  the  blind  species  of  Eciton.  None 
of  the  foregoing  kinds  have  eyes  of  tbe  facet- 
ted or  compound  structure,  such  as  are  usual 
in  insects,  and  which  ordinary  ants  (Formica) 
are  furnished  with,  but  all  are  provided  with 
organs  of  vision  composed  each  of  a  single 
lens  Connecting  them  with  the  utterly  blind 


762 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZON& 


species  of  the  genus,  is  a  very  stout-limbed 
Eciton,  the  E.  crassicornis,  whose  eyes  aie 
sunk  in  rather  deep  sockets.  This  ant  goes 
on  foraging  expeditions,  like  the  rest  of  its 
tribe,  and  attacks  even  the  nests  of  other 
stinging  species  (Myrmica),  but  it  avoids  the 
light,  always  moving  in  concealment  under 
leaves  and  fallen  branches.  When  its  col- 
umns have  to  cross  a  cleared  space,  the  ants 
construct  a  temporary  covered  way  with 
granules  of  earth,  arched  over,  and  holding 
together  mechanically  ;  under  this  the  pro- 
cession passes  in  secret,  the  indefatigable 
creatures  repairing  their  arcade  as  fast  as 
breaches  are  made  in  it. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  Eciton  vastator, 
which  has  no  eyes,  althcmgh  the  collapsed 
sockets  are  plainly  visible  ;  and,  lastly,  the 
Eciton  erratica,  in  which  both  sockets  and 
eyes  have  disappeared,  leaving  only  a  faint 
ring  to  mark  the  place  where  they  are  usual- 
ly situated.  The  armies  of  E.  vastator  and 
E.  erratica  move,  as  far  as  I  could  learn, 
wholly  under  covered  roads,  the  ants  con- 
structing them  gradually  but  rapidly  as  they 
advance.  The  column  of  foragers  pushes 
forward  step  by  step  under  the  protection  of 
these  covered  passages,  through  the  thickets, 
and  on  reaching  a  rotting  log  or  other  prom- 
ising hunting-ground,  pour  into  the  crevices 
in  search  of  booty.  I  have  traced  their 
arcades,  occasionally,  for  a  distance  of  one  or 
two  hundred  yards  ;  the  grains  of  earth  are 
taken  from  the  soil  over  which  the  column 
is  passing,  and  are  fitted  together  without 
cement.  It  is  this  last-mentioned  feature 
that  distinguishes  them  from  the  similar  cov- 
ered roads  made  by  Termites,  who  use  their 
glutinous  sail  va  to  cement  the  grains  together. 
The  blind  Ecitons,  working  in  numbers, 
build  up  simultaneously  the  sides  of  their 
convex  arcades,  and  contrive,  in  a  surprising 
manner,  to  approximate  them  and  fit  in  the 
key-stones  without  letting  the  loose  unce- 
mented  structure  fall  to  pieces.  There 
was  a  very  clear  division  of  labor  between 
the  two  classes  of  neuters  in  these  blind  spe- 
cies. The  large-headei  class,  although  not 
possessing  monstrously  lengthened  jaws,  like 
the  worker-majors  in  E.  hamata  and  E.  dre- 
panophora,  are  rigidly  denned  in  structure 
from  the  small-headed  class,  and  act  as  sol- 
diers, defending  the  working  community 
(like  soklier  Termites)  against  all  comers. 
Whenever  I  made  a  breach  in  one  of  their 
covered  ways,  all  the  ants  underneath  were 
set  in  commotion,  but  the  worker-minors  re- 
mained behind  to  repair  the  damage,  while 
the  large-heads  issued  forth  in  a  most  menac- 
ing manner,  rearing  their  heads  and  snap- 
ping their  jaws  with  an  expression  of  the 
fiercest  rage  and  defiance. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

EXCURSIONS  BEYOND   EGA. 

Steamboat  travelling  on  the  Amazons— Passengers— 
Tunantins— Caibhaoa  Indians— The  Jutahi— The 
Sap6 — Maraua  Indians — Fonte  Boa — Journey  to  St. 
Paulo  —  Tucuna  Indians  —  Illness  —  Descent  to 
Para— Changes  at  Para— Departure  for  Fngland. 


^November  7th,  1850.  —  Embarked  on  the 
Upper  Amazons  steamser,  the  Tabatinga.  for 
an  excursion  to  Tunantins,  a  small  semi- In- 
dian settlement,  lying  24O  miles  beyond  Ega. 
The  Tabatinga  is  an  iron  boat  of  about  l?fr 
tons  burden,  built  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  andi 
fitted  with  engines  of  fifty-horse  power.  The 
saloon,  with  berths  on  each  side  for  twenty 
passengers,  is  above  deck,  and  open  at  bolh 
ends  to  admit  a  free-  current  of  air.  The? 
captain  or  "  commandante'r  was  a  lieutenant 
in  the  Brazilian  navy,  a  man  of  polished, 
sailor-like  address,  and  k  rigid  disciplina- 
rian ;  his  name,  Scnhor  Nunes  Mello  Car- 
dozo.  I  was  obliged,  as  usual,  to  take  with, 
me  a  stock  of  all  articles  of  food,  except 
meat  and  fish,  for  the  time  I  intended  to  be-, 
absent  (three  months) ;  and  the  luggage,  in- 
cluding hammocks,  cooking  utensils,  crock 
ery,  and  so  forth,  formed  fifteen  large  pack- 
ages. One  bundle  consisted  of  a  mosquito- 
tent,  an  article  I  had  not  yet  had  occasion  to- 
use  on  the  river,  but  which  was  indispensable 
in  all  excursions  beyond  Ega,  every  person, 
man.  woman,  and  child,  requiring  one,  as- 
without  it  existence  would  be  scarcely  possi- 
ble. My  tent  was  about  eight  feet  long  and 
five  feet  broad,  and  wa&made  of  coarse  calico- 
in  an  oblong  shape,  with  sleeves  at  each  end; 
through  which  to  pass  the  cords  of  a  ham- 
mock. Under  this  shelter,  which  is  fixed  ur> 
every  evening  before  sundown,  one  can  read 
and  write,  or  swing  in  one's  hammock  dur- 
ing the  long  hours  which  intervene  before- 
bedtime,  and  feel  one's  sense  of  comfort  in- 
creased by  having  cheated  the  thirsty  swarma 
of  mosquitoes  which  fill  the  chamber. 

We  were  four  days-  on  the  road.  The? 
pilot,  a  mameluco  of  Ega,  whom  I  knew 
very  well,  exhibited  a  knowledge  of  the  river 
and  powers  of  endurance  which  were  quite 
remarkable.  He  stood  all  this  time  at  his 
post,  with  the  exception  of  three  or  four 
hours  in  the  middle  of  each  day,  when  he 
was  relieved  by  a  young  man  who  served  as 
apprentice  ;  arid  he  knew  the  breadth  and 
windings  of  the  channel  and  the  extent  of 
all  the \early-shif ting  shoals  from  the  Rio 
Negro  to  Loreto,  a  distance  of  more  than  a 
thousand  miles.  There  was  no  slackening^ 
of  speed  at  night,  except  during  the  brier 
but  violent  storms  which  occasionally  broke 
upon  us,  and  then  the  engiues  were  stopped 
by  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Nunes,  some- 
times against  the  wish  of  the  pilot.  The 
nights  were  often  so  dark  that  we  passenger* 
on  the  poop  deck  could  not  discern  the  hardy 
fellow  on  the  bridge  ;  but  the  steamer  drove 
on  at  full  speed,  men  being  stationed  on  the 
lookout  at  the  prow,  to  watch  for  floating 
logs,  and  one  man  placed  to  pass  orders  fo- 
the  helmsman  ;  the  keel  scraped  against  a 
\?»nd  bank  only  once  during  the  passage. 

The  passengers,  were  chiefly  Peruvians, 
mostly  thin,  anxious,  Yankee-looking  men, 
who  were  returning  home  to  the  cities  of 
Moyobamba  and  Chachapoyas,  on  the  Andes, 
after  a  trading  trip  to  the  Brazilian  towns  on 
the  Atlantic  sea-board,  whither  they  had 
£^e  six  months  previously,  with  cargoes  of 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


763 


Panama  hats  to  exchange  for  European 
wares.  These  hats  were  made  t f  the  young 
leaflets  of  a  palm  tree,  by  the  Indians  an/1 
half-caste  people  who  inhabit  the  eastern 
parts  of  Pei u.  They  form  almost  the  only 
article  of  export  from  Peru  by  way  of  the 
Amazons,  but  the  money  value  is  very  great 
compared  with  the  bulk  of  the  goods,  as  the 
hats  are  generally  of  very  fine  quality,  and 
cost  from  twelve  shillings  to  six  pounds  ster- 
ling eacli  ;  some  tradeis  biing  down  two  or 
three  thousand  pounds'  worth,  folded  into 
small  compuss  in  their  trunks.  The  return 
cargoes  consist  of  hardware,  crockery,  glass, 
and  other  bulky  or  heavy  gsods,  but  not  of 
cloth,  which,  being  of  light  weight,  can  be 
carried  across  the  Andes  from  the  ports  on 
the  Pacific  to  the  eastern  parts  of  Peru.  AU 
kinds  of  European  cloth  can  be  obtained  at  a 
much  cheaper  rate  by  this  route  than  by  the 
more  direct  way  of  the  Amazons,  the  import 
duties  of  Peru  being,  as  I  was  told,  lower 
than  those  of  Brazil,  and  the  difference  not 
being  counterbalanced  by  increased  expense 
of  transit,  ou  account  of  weight,  over  the 
passes  of  the  Andes. 

There  was  a  great  lack  of  amusement  on 
board. '  The  table  was  very  well  served,  pro- 
fessed cooks  being  employed  in  these  Ama- 
zonian steamers,  and  fresh  meat  insured  by 
keeping  on  deck  a  supply  of  live  bullocks 
and  fowls,  which  are  purchased  whenever 
there  is  an  opportunity  on  the  road.  The 
river  scenery  was  similar  to  that  already  de- 
scribed as  presented  between  the  Rio  Negro 
•and  Ega  ;  long  reaches  of  similar  aspect, 
with  two  long,  low  lines  of  forest,  varied 
sometimes  with  cliffs  of  red  clay,  appearing 
one  after  the  other,  a  horizon  of  water  and 
•sky  on  some  days  limiting  the  view  both  up 
stream  and  down.  We  traveled,  however, 
always  near  the  bank,  and,  for  my  pait,  I 
was  never  weary  of  admiring  the  picturesque 
grouping  and  variety  of  trees,  and  the  varied 
mantles  of  creeping  plants  which  clothed  the 
green  wall  of  forest  every  step  of  the  way. 
With  the  exception  of  a  small  village  called 
Fonte  Boa,  retired  from  the  iuain  river, 
where  we  stopped  to  take  in  firewood,  and 
of  which  I  shall  have  to  speak  presently,  we 
saw  no  human  habitation  the  whole  of  the 
distance.  The  mornings  were  delightfully 
cool  ;  coffee  was  served  at  sunrise,  and  a 
bountiful  breakfast  at  ten  o'clock  ;  after  that 
hour  the  heat  rapidly  increased  until  it  be- 
came almost  unbearable  :  how  the  engine- 
drivers  and  firemen  stood  it  without  exhaus- 
tion 1  cannot  tell ;  it  diminished  after  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  about  which,  time 
dinner-bell  rang,  and  the  evenings  were 
always  pleasant. 

November  llth  to  30*7*.  —  The  Tunautins  is 
a  sluggish  black-water  stream,  about  sixty 
miles  in  length,  and  toward  its  mouth  from 
100  to  200  yards  in  breadth.  The  vegetation 
on  its  banks  has  a  similar  aspect  to  that  of 
the  Rio  Negro,  the  trees  having  small  foliage 
of  a  sombre  hue,  and  the  dark  piles  of 
greenery  resting  on  the  surface  of  the  inky 
water.  The  village  is  situated  on  the  left 


bank,  about  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  contains  twenty  habitations,  nearly 
all  of  which  are  merely  hovels,  built  of  lath- 
work  and  mud.  The  bhort  streets,  after  rain, 
are  aim  >st  impassable,  on  account  of  the 
many  puddles,  and  are  choked  up  with, 
weeds,  leguminous  shrubs,  and  scarlet- flow- 
ered asclepias.  The  atmosphere  in  such  a 
place,  hedged  in  as  it  is  by  the  lofty  forest,, 
and  surrounded  by  swamps,  is  always  close* 
warm,  and  reeking  ;  and  the  hum  and  chirp. 
of  insects  and  bfrds  cause  a  continual  din. 
The  small  patch  of  weedy  ground  around  the. 
village  swarms  with  plovers,  sandpipers,, 
striped  herons,  and  scissor-lailed  fly-catch- 
ers ;  and  alligators  are  always  seen  floating; 
lazily  on  the  surface  of  the  river  in  front  of 
the  houses. 

On  landing,  I  presented  myself  to  Senhor 
Paulo  Bitancourt,  a  good-natured  half-caste, 
director  of  Indians  of  the  neighboring  river 
Issa,  who  quickly  ordered  a  small  house  to 
be  cleared  for  me.  This  exhilarating  abode 
contained  only  one  room,  the  walls  of  which 
were  disfigured  by  large  and  ugly  patches  of 
mud,  the  work  of  white  ants.  The  floor 
was  the  bare  earth,  dirty  and  damp  ;  the 
wretched  chamber  was  darkened  by  a  sheet 
of  calico  being  stretched  over  the  windows, 
a  plan  adopted  here  to  keep  out  the  Pium- 
flies,  which  float  about  in  all  shady  places 
like  thin  clouds  of  smoke,  rendering  all  re- 
pose impjssible  in  the  daytime  whenever 
they  cai.  effect  an  entrance.  My  baggage 
was  soon  landed,  and  before  the  steamer  de- 
parted I  had  taken  gun,  insect-net,  and  game 
bag,  to  make  a  preliminary  exploration  of 
my  new  locality, 

I  remained  here  nineteen  days,  and,  con- 
sidering the  shortness  of  the  time,  made  a 
very  good  collection  of  monkeys,  birds,  and 
insects.  A  considerable  number  of  the  spe- 
cies (especially  of  insects)  were  different  from 
those  of  the  four  other  stations,  which  I  ex- 
amined on  the  south  side  of  the  Solimoens 
and  as  many  of  these  were  "  representative 
forms"*  of  others  found  on  the  opposite 
banks  of  the  broad  river,  I  concluded  that 
there  could  have  been  no  connection  between 
the  two  shores  during,  at  least,  the  recent 
geological  period.  This  conclusion  is  con- 
firmed by  the  case  of  the  Uakari  monkeys, 
described  in  the  last  chapter.  All  these 
strongly  modified  local  races  of  insects  con- 
fined to  one  side  of  the  Solimoens  (like  the 
Uakaris),  are  such  as  have  not  been  able  to 
cross  a  wide  treeless  space  such  as  a  river. 
The  acquisition  which  pleased  me  most,  iti 
this  place,  was  a  new  species  of  butterfly  (a 
Catagramma),  which  has  since  been  named 
C.  excelsior,  owing  to  its  surpassing  in  size 
and  beauty  all  the  previously-known  species 
of  its  singularly  beautiful  genus.  The  upper 
surface  of  the  wings  is  of  the  richest  blue, 
varying  in  shade  with  the  play  of  light,  and 
on  each  side  is  a  broad  curved  stripe  of  an 
orange  color.  It  is  a  bold  flier,  and  is  not 

*  Species  or  races  which  take  the  place  of  other 
ajjjed  upecicB  or  races. 


T64 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


confined,  as  I  afterward  found,  to  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  river,  for  once  I  saw  a  speci- 
men amid  a  number  of  richly- colored  butter- 
flies, flying  about  the  deck  of  the  steamer 
when  we  were  anchored  off  Fonte  Boa,  200 
miles  Jower  down  the  river. 

With  the  exception  of  three  mameluco 
families  and  a  stray  Portuguese  trader,  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  village  and  neighbor- 
hood are  semi-civilized  Indians  of  the  Shu- 
maua  and  Passe  tribes.  The  forests  of  the 
Tuantins,  however,  are  inhabited  by  a  tribe 
of  wild  Indians  called  Caishanas,  who  resem- 
ble much,  in  their  social  conditions  and  man- 
ners, the  debased  Muras  of  the  Lower  Ama- 
zons, and  have  like  them,  shown  no  aptitude 
for  civilized  life  in  any  shape.  Their  huts 
commence  at  the  distance  of  an  hour's  walk 
from  the  village,  along  gloomy  and  narrow 
forest  paths.  My  first  and  only  visit  to  a 
Caishaua  dwelling  was  accidental.  One  day, 
having  extended  my  walk  further  than  usual, 
and  followed  one  of  the  forest-roads  until  it 
became  a  mere  jricada,  or  hunter's  track,  I 
came  suudenly  upon  a  well-trodden  pathway, 
bordered  on  each  side  with  Lycopodia  of  the 
most  elegant  shapes,  the  tips  of  the  fronds 
stretching  almost  like  tendrils  down  the  little 
earthy  slopes  which  formed  the  edge  of  the 
path.  The  road,  though  smooth,  was  nar- 
row and  dark,  and  in  many  places  blocked 
up  by  trunks  of  felled  trees,  which  had  been 
apparently  thrown  across  by  the  timid  In- 
dians on  purpose  to  obstruct  the  way  to  their 
habitations.  Half  a  mile  of  this  shady  road 
brought  me  to  a  small  open  space  on  the 
banks  of  a  brook  or  creek,  on  the  skirts  of 
which  stood  a  conical  hut  with  a  very  low 
doorway.  There  was  also  an  open  shed, 
with  stages  made  of  split  palm  stems,  and  a 
number  of  large  wooden  troughs.  Two  or 
three  dark-skinned  children,  with  a  man  and 
woman,  were  in  the  shed  ;  but,  immediately 
on  espying  me,  all  of  them  ran  to  the  hut, 
bolting  through  the  little  doorway  like  so 
many  wild  animals  scared  into  their  burrows. 
A  few  moments  after,  the  man  put  his  head 
out  with  a  look  of  great  distrust ;  but  on  my 
making  the  most  friendly  gestures  I  could 
think  of,  he  came  forth  with  the  children. 
Tiiey  were  all  smeared  with  black  mud  and 
paint ;  the  only  clothing  of  the  elders  was  a 
kind  of  apron  made  of  the  innner  bark  of  the 
sapucaya  tree,  and  the  savage  aspect  of  the 
man  was  heightened  by  his  hair  hanging  over 
his  forehead  to  the  eyes.  I  stayed  about  two 
hours  in  the  neighborhood,  the  children  gain- 
ing sufficient  confidence  to  come  and  help 
me  to  search  for  insects.  The  only  weapon 
used  by  the  Caishanas  is  the  blow-gun,  and 
this  is  employed  only  in  shooting  animals  for 
food.  They  are  not  a  warlike  people,  like 
most  of  the  neighboring  tribes  on  the  Japura 

(and  Issa. 
The  whole  tribe  of  Caishanas  does  not  ex- 
ceed in  number  400  souls.  None  of  them  are 
baptized  Indians,  and  they  do  not  dwell  in 
villages,  like  the  more  advanced  sections  of 
the  Tupi  stock  ;  but  each  family  has  its  own 
solitary  hut.  They  are  quite  harmless,  do 


not  practice  tattooing,  or  perforate  their  ears 
and  noses  in  any  way.  Their  social  condi- 
tion is  of  a  low  type,  very  little  removed,  in- 
deed, from  that  of  the  brutes  living  in  the 
same  forests.  They  do  not  appear  to  obey 
any  common  chief,  and  I  could  not  make  out 
that  they  had  Pajes,  or  medicine  men,  those 
rudest  beginnings  of  a  priest  class.  Sym- 
bolical or  masked  dances,  and  ceremonies  in 
honor  of  the  Jurupari,  or  demon,  customs 
which  prevail  among  all  the  surrounding 
tribes,  are  unknown  to  the  Caishanas.  There  . 
is  among  them  a  trace  of  festival  keeping  ;  • 
but  the  only  ceremony  used  is  the  drinking 
of  cashiri  beer,  and  fermented  liquors  made  , 
of  Indian  corn,  bananas,  and  so  forth.  , 
These  affairs,  however,  are  conducted  in  a 
degenerate  style,  for  they  do  not  drink  to  in- 
toxication, or  sustain  the  orgies  for  several 
days  and  nights  in  succession,  like  the  Juris, 
Passes,  and  Tucunas.  The  men  play  a 
musical  instrument,  made  of  pieces  of  stem 
of  the  arrow-grass  cut  in  different  lengths 
and  arranged  like  Pan-pipes.  With  this  they 
while  away  whole  hours,  lolling  in  ragged 
bast  hammocks  slung  in  their  dark,  smoky 
huts.  The  Tunantins  people  say  that  the 
Caishanas  have  persecuted  the  wild  animals 
and  birds  to  such  an  extent  near  their  settle- 
ments that  there  is  now  quite  a  scarcity  of 
animal  food.  If  they  kill  a  toucan,  it  is  con- 
sidered an  important  event,  and  the  bird  is 
made  to  serve  as  a  meal  for  a  score  or  more 
persons.  They  boil  the  meat  in  earthenware 
kettles  filled  with  Tucupi  sauce,  and  eat  it 
with  beiju,  or  mandioca  cakes.  The  women 
are  not  allowed  to  taste  of  the  meat,  but 
are  forced  to  content  themselves  with  sopping 
pieces  of  cake  in  the  liquor. 

November  30^.~I  left  Tunantins  in  a 
trading  schooner  of  eighty  tons  burden  be- 
longing to  Senhor  Batalha,  a  tradesman  of 
Ega,  which  had  been  out  all  the  summer  col- 
lecting produce,  and  was  commanded  by  a 
friend  of  mine,  a  young  Paranese,  named 
Francisco"  Raiol.  "We  arrived  on  the  3d  of 
December  at  the  mouth  of  the  Jutahi,  a  con- 
siderable  stream  about  half  a  mile  broad,  and 
flowing  with  a  very  sluggish  current.  This 
is  one  of  a  series  of  six  rivers,  from  400  to 
1000  miles  in  length,  which  flow  from  the 
south-west  through  unknown  lands  lying  be- 
tween Bolivia  and  the  Upper  Amazons,  and 
enter  this  latter  river  between  the  Madeira 
and  the  Ucayali.  We  remained  at  anchor 
four  days  within  the  mouth  of  the  Sap6,  a 
small  tributary  of  the  Jutahi  flowing  from 
the  south-east,  Seuhor  Raiol  having  to  send 
an  igarite  to  the  Cupatana,  a  large  tributary 
some  few  miles  farther  up  the  river,  to  fetch 
a  cargo  of  salt  fish.  During  this  time  we 
made  several  excursions  m  the  montaria  to 
various  places  in  the  neighborhood.  Our 
longest  trip  was  to  some  Indian  houses,  a 
distance  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  up  the 
Sap6,  a  journey  made  with  one  Indian  pad- 
dler,  and  occupying  a  whole  day.  The 
stream  is  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  yards 
broad  ;  its  waters  are  darker  in  color  than 
those  of  the  Jutahi,  and  flow,  as  in  all  these 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


765 


small  rivers,  partly  under  shade  between  two 
lofty  walls  of  forest.  We  passed,  in  ascend- 
ing, seven  habitations,  most  of  them  hidden 
in  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  the  banks  ;  their 
sites  being  known  only  by  small  openings  in 
the  compact  wall  of  forest,  and  the  presence 
of  a  canoe  or  two  tied  up  in  little  shady 
ports.  The  inhabitants  are  chiefly  Indians 
of  the  Maraua  tribe,  whose  original  territory 
comprised  all  the  small  by-stieams  lying  be- 
tween the  Jutahi  and  the  Jiirua,  near  the 
mouths  of  both  these  great  tributaries.  They 
live  in  separate  families  or  small  hordes  ; 
have  no  common  chief,  and  are  considered 
as  a  tribe  little  disposed  to  adopt  civilized 
customs  or  be  friendly  with  the  whites.  One 
•f  the  houses  belonged  to  a  Juri  family,  and 
we  saw  the  owner,  an  erect,  noble-looking 
old  fellow,  tattooed,  as  customary  with  his 
tribe,  in  a  large  patch  over  the  middle  of  his 
face,  fishing  under  the  shade  of  a  colossal 
tree  in  his  poit  with  hook  and  line.  He 
saluted  us  in  the  usual  grave  and  courteous 
manner  of  the  better  sort  of  Indians  as  we 
passed  by. 

We  reached  the  last  house,  or  rather  iwo 
housts,  about  ten  o'clock,  and  spent  there 
several  hours  during  the  great  heat  of  mid- 
day. The  houses,  which  stood  on  a  high 
clayey  bunk,  were  of  quadrangular  shape, 
partly  open  like  sheds,  and  partly  enclosed 
with  rude  mud-walls,  forming  one  or  more 
chambers.  The  inhabitants,  a  few  families 
of  Marauds,  comprising  about  thirty  persons, 
received  us  in  a  frank,  smiling  manner,  a 
reception  which  may  have  been  due  to  Senhor 
Raiol  being  an  old  acquaintance  and  some- 
what of  a  favorite.  None  of  them  were  tat- 
tooed, tut  the  men  had  great  holes  pierced 
in  their  ear-lobes,  in  which  they  insert  plugs 
of  wood,  and  their  lips  were  drilled  with 
smaller  holes.  One  of  the  younger  men, 
a  fine  strapping  fellow  nearly  six  feet  high, 
with  a  large  aquiline  nose,  who  seemed  to 
wish  to  be  particularly  friendly  with  me, 
showed  me  the  use  of  these  lip-holes,  by  fix 
ing  a  number  of  little  white  sticks  in  them, 
and  then  twisting  his  mouth  about  and  going 
through  a  pantomime  to  represent  defiance 
in  the  presence  of  an  enemy.  Nearly  all  the 
peop-e  were  disfigured  by  dark  blotches  on 
the  skin,  the  effect  of  a  cutaneous  disease 
very  prevalent  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
The  face  of  one  old  man  was  completely 
blackened,  and  looked  as  though  it  had  been 
smeared  with  blaek-tead,  the  blotches  having 
coalesced  to  from  one  large  patch  ;  others 
were  simply  mottled.  The  black  spots  were 
hard  and  rough,  but  not  scaly,  and  were  mar- 
gined with  rings  of  a  color  paler  than  the 
natural  hue  of  the  skin.  I  had  seen  many 
Indians  and  a  few  half-castes  at  Tunantins, 
and  afterward  saw  others  at  Fonte  Boa, 
blotched  in  the  same  way.  The  disease 
would  seem  to  be  contagious,  for  I  was  told 
that  a  Portuguese  trader  became  disfigured 
with  it  after  cohabiting  some  years  with  an 
Indian  woman.  It  is  curious  that,  although 
prevalent  in  many  places  on  the  Solimoens, 
.10  resident  of  Ega  exhibited  signs  of  the  dis- 


ease. The  early  explorers  of  tlie  country,  on 
noticing  spotted  skins  to  be  very  frequent  in 
certain  localities,  thought  they  were  peculiar 
to  a  few  tribes  of  Indians.  The  younger 
children  in  these  houses  on  the  Sap6  were 
free  from  spots  ;  but  two  or  three  of  them, 
about  ten  years  of  age,  showed  signs  of  their 
commencement  in  rounded  yellowish  patches 
on  the  skin,  and  these  appeared  languid  arii 
sickly,  although  the  blotched  adults  seemed 
not  to  be  affected  in  their  general  health.  A. 
middle-aged  half-caste  at  Fonte  Boa  told  ma 
he  had  cured  himself  of  the  disorder  by 
strong  doses  of  sarsaparilla ;  the  black 
patches  had  caused  the  hair  of  his  beard  an i 
eyebrows  to  fall  off,  but  it  had  grown  again 
since  his  cure. 

We  left  these  friendly  people  about  four" 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  descending 
the  umbrageous  river,  stopped,  about  half- 
way down,  at  another  house,  built  in  one  of 
the  most  charming  situations  I  had  yet  seen 
in  this  country.  A  clean,  narrow,  sandy 
pathway  led  from  the  shady  port  to  the 
house,  through  a  tract  of  forest  of  indescrib- 
able luxuriance.  The  buildings  stood  on  an 
eminence  in  the  middle  of  a  level,  cleared 
space,  the  firm  sandy  soil,  omooth  as  a  floor, 
forming  a  broad  terrace  around  them.  The 
owner  was  a  semi-civilized  Indian,  named 
Manoel,  a  dull,  taciturn  fellow,  who,  to- 
gether with  his  wife  and  children,  seemed  by 
no  means  pleased  at  b  eing  intruded  on  in 
their  solitude.  The  family  must  have  been 
very  industrious ;  for  the  plantations  were 
very  extensive,  and  included  a  little  of  almost 
all  kinds  of  cultivated  tropical  productions — 
fruit  trees,  vegetables,  and  even  flowers  for 
ornament.  The  silent  old  man  had  surely  a 
fine  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature, 
for  the  site  he  had  chosen  commanded  a  view 
of  surprising  magnificence  over  the  summits 
of  the  forest ;  and,  to  give  finish  to  the  pros- 
pect, he  had  planted  a  large  quantity  of 
banana  trees  in  the  foreground,  thus  conceal- 
ing the  charred  and  dead  stumps  which, 
would  otherwise  have  marred  the  effect  of 
the  rolling  sea  of  greenery.  The  only  infor- 
mation I  could  get  out  of  Manoel  was  that 
large  flocks  of  richly-colored  birds  came 
down  in  the  fruit  season  and  despoiled  his 
trees.  The  sun  set  over  the  tree-tops  before 
we  left  this  little  Eden,  and  the  remainder  of 
our  journey  was  made  slowly  and  pleasantly, 
under  the  checkered  shades  of  the  river 
banks,  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 

December  1th.— Arrived  at  Fonte  Boa^_  a 
wretched,  muddy,  and  dilapidated  village, 
situated  two  or  three  miles  within  the  mouth, 
of  a  narrow  by-stream  called  the  Caykiar- 
hy,  which  runs  almost  as  straight  as  an  arti- 
ficial canal  between  the  village  and  the  main 
Amazons.  The  character  of  the  vegetation 
and  soil  here  was  different  from  that  of  all 
other  localities  1  had  hitherto  examined  ;  I 
hail  planned,  therefore,  to  devote  six  weeks 
to  the  place.  Having  written  beforehand  to 
one  ol  the  principal  inhabitants,  Benhor 
Venancio,  a  house  was  renitr  for  me  on  lau«i- 


768 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


ing.  The  only  recommendation  of  the  dwell- 
ing was  its  coolness.  It  was,  in  fact,  de- 
cidedly damp  ;  the  plastered  walls  bore  a 
crop  of  green  mould,  and  a  slimy  moisture 
oozed  through  the  black,  dirty  floor  ;  the 
rooms  were  large,  but  lighted  by  miserable 
little  holes  in  place  of  windows  The  village 
is  built  on  a  clayey  plateau,  and  the  ruinous 
houses  are  arranged  round  a  large  square, 
which  is  so  choked  up  with  tangled  bushes 
that  it  is  quite  impassable,  the  lazy  iuhabit- 
,ants  having  allowed  the  fine  open  space  to 
relapse  into  jungle.  The  stiff,  clayey  emi- 
nence is  worn  into  deep  gullies  which  slope 
toward  the  river,  and  the  ascent  from  the 
port  in  rainy  weather  is  so  slippery  that  one 
is  obliged  to  crawl  up  to  the  streets  on  all- 
fours.  A  large  tract  of  ground  behind  the 
place  is  clear  of  forest,  but  this,  as  well  as 
the  streets  and  gardens,  is  covered  with  a 
dense,  tough  carpet  of  shrubs,  having  the 
same  wiry  nature  as  our  common  heath.  Be- 
neath its  deceitful  covering  the  soil  is  always 
moist  and  soft,  and  in  the  wet  season  the 
whole  is  converted  into  a  glutinous  mud 
swamp.  There  is  a  very  pretty  church  in 
one  corner  of  the  square,  but  in  the  rainy 
months  of  the  year  (nine  out  of  twelve)  the 
place  of  worship  is  almost  inaccessible  to  the 
inhabitants  on  account  of  the  mud,  the  only 
means  of  getting  to  it  being  by  hugging 
closely  the  walls  and  palings,  and  so  advanc- 
ing sideways  step  by  step. 

I  remained  in  this  delectable  place  until  the 
25th  of  January,  1857.  Fonte  Boa,  in  addi- 
tion to  its  other  amenities,  has  the  reputation 
throughout  the  country  of  being  the  head- 
quarters of  mosquitoes,  and  it  fully  deserves 
the  title.  They  are  more  annoying  in  the 
houses  by  day  than  by  night,  for  they  swarm 
in  the  dark  and  damp  rooms,  keeping,  in  the 
daytime,  near  the  floor,  and  settling  by  half- 
dozens  together  on  the  legs.  At  night  the 
calico  tent  is  a  sufficient  protection  ;  but  this 
is  obliged  to  be  folded  every  morning,  and  in 
letting  it  down  before  sunset,  great  care  is 
required  to  prevent  even  one  or  two  of  the 
tormentors  from  stealing  in  beneath,  their 
insatiable  thirst  for  blood  and  pungent  sting 
making  these  enough  to  spoil  all  comfort. 
In  the  forest  the  plague  is  much  worse  ;  but 
the  forest-mosquito  belongs  to  a  different 
species  from  that  of  the  towu,  being  much 
larger,  and  having  transparent  wings  ;  it  is  a 
Jittle  cloud  that  one  carries  about  one's  per- 
son every  step  on  a  woodland  rumble,  and 
their  hum  is  so  loud  that  it  prevents  one 
hearing  well  the  notes  of  birds.  The  town 
mosquito  has  opaque  speckled  wings,  a  little 
less  severe  sting,  and  a  silent  way  of  going  to 
work  ;  the  inhabitants  ought  to  be  thankful 
the  big  noisy  fellows  never  come  out  of  the 
forest.  In  compensation  for  the  abundance 
of  mosquitoes,  Fonte  Boa  has  no  piums  ; 
there  was,  therefore,  some  comfort  outside 
one's  door  in  the  daytime  ;  the  comfort,  how- 
ever, was  lessened  by  there  being  scarcely 
any  room  in  front  of  the  house  to  sit  down 
or  walk  about  in,  for,  on  our  side  of  the 
square,  the  causeway  was  only  two  feet  broad. 


and  to  step  over  the  boundary,  formed  by  a 
line  of  slippery  stems  of  palms,  was  to  sink 
up  to  the  knees  in  a  sticky  swamp. 

Notwithstanding  damp  and  mosquitoes,  I 
had  capital  health  and  enjoyed  myself  much 
at  Fonte  Boa  ;  swampy  and  weedy  places 
being  generally  more  healthy  than  dry  ones  ' 
on  the  Amazons,  probably  owing  to  the  ab- 
sence of  great  radiation  of  heat  from  the 
ground.  The  forest  was  extremely  rich  and 
picturesque,  although  the  soil  was  every- 
where clayey  and  cold,  and  broad  pathways 
threaded  it  for  many  a  mile  over  hill  and 
dale.  In  every  hollow  flowed  a  sparkling 
brook,  with  perennial  and  crystal  waters. 
The  margins  of  these  streams  were  paradises 
of  leanness  and  verdure  ;  the  most  striking 
feature  being  the  variety  of  ferns,  with  im- 
mense leaves,  some  terrestrial,  others  climb- 
ing over  trees,  and  two,  at  least,  arborescent. 
I  saw  here  some  of  the  largest  trees  I  had  yet 
seen.  There  was  one  especially,  a  cedar, 
whose  colossal  trunk  towered  up  for  more 
than  a  hundred  feet,  straight  as  an  arrow  ;  I 
never  saw  its  crown,  which  was  lost  to  view, 
from  below,  beyond  the  crowd  of  lesser 
trees  which  surrounded  it.  Birds  and  mon- 
keys in  this  glorious  forest  were  very  abun- 
dant ;  the  bear  like  Pithecia  hirsuta  being 
the  most  remarkable  of  the  monkeys,  and 
the  Umbrella  Chatterer  and  Curl-crtsted 
Toucans  among  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
birds.  The  Indians  and  half-castes  of  the 
village  had  made  their  little  plantations,  and 
built  huts  for  summer  residence  on  the  banks 
of  the  rivulets,  and  my  rambles  generally  ter- 
minated at  one  or  other  of  these  places.  The 
people  were  always  cheerful  and  friendly, 
and  seemed  to  be  glad  when  I  proposed  to 
join  them  at  their  meals,  contributing  the 
contents  of  my  provision-bag  to  the  dinner, 
and  squatting  down  among  them  on  the  mat. 

The  village  was  formerly  a  place  of  more 
importance  than  it  now  is,  a  great  number  of 
Indians  belonging  to  the  most  industrious 
tribes,  Shumanas,  Passes,  and  Cambevas, 
having  settled  on  the  site  and  adopted  civil- 
ized habits,  their  industry  being  directed  by 
a  few  whites,  who  seem  to  have  been  men  of 
humane  views  as  well  as  enterprising  traders. 
One  of  these  old  employers,  Senhor  Guer- 
reiro,  a  well-educated  Paraense.  was  still 
trading  on  the  Amazons  when  I  left  the 
country,  in  1859  ;  he  told  me  that  forty  years 
previously  Fonte  Boa  was  a  delightful  place 
to  live  in.  The  neighborhood  was  then  well 
cleared,  and  almost  free  from  mosquitoes, 
and  the  Indians  were  orderly,  industrious, 
and  happy.  What  led  to  the  ruin  of  the 
settlement  was  the  arrival  of  several  Portu- 
guese and  Brazilian  traders  of  a  low  class, 
who,  in  their  eagerness  for  business,  taught 
the  easy-going  Indians  all  kinds  of  trickery 
and  immorality.  They  enticed  the  men  and 
women  away  from  their  old  employers,  and 
thus  broke  up  the  large  establishments,  com- 
pelling the  principals  to  take  their  capital  to 
other  places.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  there 
were  few  pure- blood  Indians  at  Fonte  Boa, 
and  no  true  whites  The  inhabitants  seemed 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONb.  767 

to  be  nearly  all  mamelucos,  and  were  a  loose-  erabie  expense,  I  thought  ii  wpoko  well  for 
living,  rustic,  plain-spoken,  and  ignorant  se'  the  good  intentions  and  simplicity  of  heart  of 
of  people.  There  was  no  priest  or  school  these  poor  neglected  villagers, 
master  within  150  miles,  and  had  not  been  I  left  Fonte  Boa,  for  Ega,  on  the  25th  of 
any  for  inany  years  ,  the  people  seemed  to  be  January,  making  the  passage  by  steamer, 
almost  without  government  of  any  kind,  and  down  the  middle  of  the  current,  in  sixteen 
.yet  crime  and  deeds  of  violence  appeared  to  hours.  The  sight  of  the  clean  and  neat  little 
be  of  very  rare  occurrence.  The  principal  town,  with  its  open  spaces,  close-cropped 
man  of  the  village,  one  Senhor  Jtisto,  was  ?,  £Tass,  broad  lake,  and  white  sandy  shores, 
Hg,  coarse,  energetic  fellow,  sub-delegadc  Uad  a  most  exhilarating  effect,  after  my  trip 
of  police,  and  the  only  tradesman  who  owner,  into  the  wilder  paits  of  the  country.  The 
a  large  vessel  running*  directly  between  Foute  district  between  Ega  and  Loretj,  the  first 
JBoa  and  Para.  He  had  recently  built  a  large  Peruvian  village  on  the  river,  is,  indeed,  the 
liouse,  in  the  style  of  middle-class  dwellings  most  remote,  thinly-peopled,  and  barbarous 
of  towns,  namely,  with  brick  floors  and  tiled  °f  the  whole  Hue  of  the  Amazons,  from  ocean 
roof,  the  bricks  and  tiles  having  been  brought  to  ocean.  Beyond  Loreto,  signs  of  civiliza- 
from  Para,  1,500  miles  distant,  the  nearest  tioii,  from  the  side  of  the  Pacific,  begin  to  be 
place  where  they  are  manufactured  in  sur-  numerous  ;  and  from  Ega,  downward,  the 
plus.  When  Senhor  Justo  visited  me,  he  improvement  i,  felt  from  the  side  of  the  AU 
was  much  struck  with  the  engravings  in  a  lantic  iSkattwifr  I  Ik  ' 

iile  of  Illustrated  London  News,  which  lay  on  September  &th,  1857.--Ag^neunSrfte\rW 
my  table.  It  was  impossible  to  resist  his  the  Tabatinga,  this  time  for  a  longer  ex- 
urgent  entreaties  to  let  him  have  some  of  cursion  than  the  last,  namely,  to  St.  Paulo 
them  "  to  look  at,"  so  one  day  he  carried  off  de  Olivenpa,  a  village  higher  up  than  any  1 
n  portion  of  the  papers  on  loan.  A  fort-  had  yet  visited,  being  2(50  miles  distant  in  a 
night  afterward,  on  going  to  request  him  to  straight  line  from  Ega,  or  about  400  miles, 
return  them,  I  found  the  engravings  had  been  following  the  bends  of  the  river, 
-cut  out,  and  stuck  all  over  the  newly  white-  Tne  waters  are  now  nearly  at  their  lowest 
washed  walls  of  his  chamber,  many  of  them  point ;  but  this  made  no  difference  to  the  rate 
upside  down.  He  thought  a  room  thus  of  travelling,  night  or  day.  Several  of  the 
decorated  with  foreign  views  would  increase  Parana-mirims,  or  by-channels,  which  the 
-his  importance  among  his  neighbors,  and  steamer  threads  in  the  season  of  full-water, 
when  I  yielded  to  his  wish  to  keep  them,  was  to  save  a  long  circuit,  were  now  dried  up, 
boundless  in  demonstrations  of  gratitude,  their  empty  beds  looking  like  deep  sandy 
ending  by  shipping  a  boat  load  of  **inles  for  ravines  in  the  midst  of  the  thick  forest.  The 
my  use  at  Ega.  large  sand  islands,  and  miles  of  sandy  beach, 

These  neglected  and  rude  villagers  still  re<  were  also  uncovered  ;  and  these,  with  the 
•iained  many  religious  practices  which  former  swarms  of  large  aquatic  birds,  storks,  her- 
missionaries  or  priests  had  taught  them,  ons,  ducks,  vaders,  and  spoon-bills,  which 
The  ceremony  which  they  observed  at  Christ-  lined  their  margins  in  certain  places,  made 
mas,  like  that  described  as  practised  by  the  river  view  much  more  varied  and  ani- 
•negroes  in  a  former  chapter,  was  very  pleas-  mated  than  it  is  in  the  season  of  the  flood, 
irig  for  its  simplicity,  and  for  the  heartiness  Alligators  of  large  size  were  common  near 
with  which  it  was  conducted.  The  church  the  shores,  lazily  floating,  an  I  heedless  of 
was  opened,  dried,  and  swept  clean  a  few  the  passing  steamer.  The  passengers  amused 
days  before  Chi  istmas  eve,  and  on  the  morn-  themselves  by  shooting  at  them  from  the 
ing  all  the  women  and  children  of  the  village  deck  with  a  double-barrelled  rifle  we  ha.l 
ivere  busy  decorating  it  with  festoons  of  on  board.  The  sign  of  a  mortal  hit  was  thu 
leaves  and  wild  flowers.  Toward  midnisrht  monster  turning  suddenly  over,  and  remain- 
it  Was  illuminated  inside  and  out  with  little  ing  floating,  with  its  white  belly  upward, 
oil  lamps,  made  of  clay,  and  the  image  of  the  Lieutenant  Nuues  wished  to  have  one  of  the 
4t  Menioo  Deus.'  or  Child-God,  in  its  cradle,  dead  animals  on  board,  for  the  purpose  of 
Tvas  placed  below  the  altar,  which  was  opening  the  abdomen,  and,  if  a  male,  cxtract- 
iiglited  up  with  rows  of  wax  candles— very  ing  a  part  which  is  held  in  great  estimation 
lean  ones,  but  the  best  the  poor  people  could  among  Brazilians  as  a  "  remedio,"  charm  or 
afford.  All  the  villagers  assembled  soon  medicine.  The  steamer  was  stopped,  and  a 
•afterward,  dressed  in  their  best,  the  women  b>at  sent,  with  four  strong  men.  to  embark 
with  flowers  in  their  hair,  and  a  few  simple  the  beast  the  body,  however,  was  found  loo 
hymns,  totally  irrelevant  to  the  occasion,  but  heavy  to  be  lifted  into  the  boat ;  so  a  rore 
probably  the  only  ones  known  by  them,  were  was  passed  round  it,  and  the  hideous  creat 
sung  kneeling  ;  an  old  half-caste,  with  black  urc  towed  alongside,  and  hoisted  on  deck  by 
spoiled  face,  leading  off  the  tunes.  This  fin-  means  of  the  crane,  which  was  rigged  for  the 
(shed,  the  congregation  rose,  and  then  purpose.  It  had  still  some  sparks  of  life,  and 
marched  in  single  file  up  one  side  of  the  when  the  knife  was  applied,  lashed  its  taii, 
church  and  down  the  other,  singing  together  and  opened  its  enormous  jaws,  sending  the 
••a  very  pretty  marching  chorus,  and  each  one,  crowd  of  bystanders  flying  in  all  directions, 
on  reaching  the  little  image,  stooping  to  kiss  A  blow  with  a  Imtchet,  on  the  crown  of  the 
the  end  of  a  ribbon  which  was  tied  round  its  head,  gave  him  his  quietus  at  lust.  The 
w*ist.  Considering  that  the  ceremony  was  l<"iglh  "f  tlm  animal  was  fifteen  feet ;  but 
got  up  of  their  own  free  will,  and  at  coosid^,  v**~>  atattMiieul  can  give  but  an  imperfect  idea 


768 


THE  NATURALIST  ON   THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


of  its  immense  bulk  and  weight.  The  num- 
ber of  turtles  which  were  seen  swimming  in 
quiet  shoaly  bays  passed  on  the  road,  also 
gave  us  much  amusement.  They  were  seen 
by  dozens  ahead,  with  their  snouts  peering 
above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and,  on  the 
steamer  approaching,  turning  round  to  stare, 
but  not  losing  confidence  till  the  vessel  had 
nearly  passed,  when  they  appeared  to  be 
[suddenly  smitten  with  distrust,  diving  like 
ducks  under  the  stream. 

The  river  scenery  about  the  mouth  of  the 
Japura  is  extremely  grand,  and  was  the  sub- 
ject of  remark  among  the  passengers.  Lieu- 
tenant Nunes  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
there  was  no  diminution  of  width  or  grand- 
eur in  the  mighty  stream  up  to  this  point,  a 
distance  of  1500  miles  from  the  Atlantic  ;  and 
yet  we  did  not  here  see  the  shores  of  the  river 
on  both  sides  at  once  ;  lines  of  islands  or 
tracts  of  alluvial  land,  having  by-chaimela 
in  the  rear,  intercepting  the  view  of  the 
northern  mainland,  and  sometimes  also  of  the 
southern.  Beyond  the  Issa,  however,  the  river 
becomes  evidently  narrower,  being  reduced  to 
an  average  width  of  about  a  mile  ;  there  were 
then  no  longer  those  magnificent  reaches,  with 
blank  horizons,  which  occur  lower  down. 
We  had  a  dark  and  rainy  night  after  passing 
Tunantins,  and  the  passengers  were  all  very 
uneasy  on  account  of  the  speed  at  which  we 
were  travelling,  twelve  miles  an  hour,  with 
every  plank  vibrating  with  the  force  of  the 
engines.  Many  of  them  could  not  sleep, 
myself  among  the  number.  At  length,  a  lit- 
tle after  midnight,  a  sudden  shout  startled 
us  :  "  Back  her  !"  (English  terms  being 
used  in  matters  relating  to  steam-engines.) 
The  pilot  instantly  sprang  to  the  helm,  and 
in  a  few  moments  we  felt  our  padddle  box 
brushing  against  the  wall  of  forest  into 
which  we  had  nearly  driven  headlong.  For- 
tunately,  the  water  was  deep  close  up  to  the 
bank.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  10th  of 
September  we  anchored  in  the  port  of  St. 
Paulo,  after  five  days'  quick  travelling  from 
Ega. 

St.  Paulo  is  built  on  a  high  hill,  on  the 
southern  bank  of  the  river.  The  bill  is 
formed  of  the  same  Tabatinga  clay  which 
occurs  at  intervals  over  the  whole  valley  of 
the  Amazons,  but  nowhere  rises  to  so  great 
an  elevation  as  here,  the  height  being  about 
100  feet  above  the  mean  level  of  the  river. 
The  ascent  from  the  port  is  steep  and  slip- 
pery ;  steps  and  resting-places  have  been 
made,  to  lighten  the  fatigue  of  mounting, 
otherwise  the  village  would  be  almost  inac 
eessible,  especially  to  porters  of  luggage  and 
cargo,  for  there  are  no  means  of  making  a 
uircuitous  road  of  more  moderate  slope,  "the 
dill  being  steep  on  all  sides,  and  surrounded 
by  dense  forests  and  swamps.  The  place 
contains  about  500  inhabitants,  chiefly  half- 
3astes  and  Indians  of  the  Tucunia  and  Col- 
ana  tribes,  who  are  very  little  improved 
from  their  primitive  state.  The  streets  are 
aarrow,  and  in  rainy  weather  inches  deep  in 
mud  ;  many  houses  are  of  substantial  struc- 
ture, but  in  a  ruinous  condition,  and  the 
olace  altogether  presents  the  appearance,  like 


Fonte  Boa,  of  having  seen  better  daya, 
Signs  of  commerce,  such  as  meet  the  eye  at 
Ega,  could  scarcely  be  expected  in  this  re- 
mote spot,  situate  1800  miles,  or  seven 
months'  round  voyage  by  sailing-vessels,, 
from  Para,  the  nearest  market  for  produce. 
A  very  short  experience  showed  that  the  in- 
habitants were  utterly  debased,  the  few  Por- 
tuguese and  other  immigrants  having,  in- 
stead of  promoting  industry,  adopted  the  lazy 
mode  of  life  of  the  Indians,  spiced  with  the 
practice  of  a  few  strong  vices  of  their  own 
introduction. 

The  head-man  of  the  village,  Senhor  An- 
tonia  Ribeiro,  half -white,  half-Tucuna.  pre- 
pared a  house  for  me  on  landing,  and  intro- 
duced me  to  the  principal  people.  The  sum- 
mit of  the  hill  is  grassy  table-land,  of  two  or 
three  hundred  acres  in  extent.  The  soil  is 
not  wholly  clay,  but  partly  sand  and  gra- 
vel ;  the  village  itself,  however,  stands 
chiefly  on  clay,  and  the  streets,  therefore, 
after  heavy  rains,  become  filled  with  muddy 
puddles.  On  damp  nights  the  chorus  of 
frogs  and  toads  which  swarm  in  weedy  back 
yards,  creates  such  a  bewildering  uproar 
that  it  is  impossible  to  carry  on  a  conversa- 
tion in-doors  except  by  shouting.  My  house 
was  damper  even  than  the  one  I  occupied  at 
Fonte  Boa,  and  this  made  it  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  keep  my  collections  from  being 
spoiled  by  mould.  But  the  general  humidity 
of  the  atmosphere  in  this  part  of  the  river 
was  evidently  much  greater  than  it  is  lower 
down  ;  it  appears  to  increase  gradually  in  as- 
cending from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Andes.  It 
was  impossible  at  St.  Paulo  to  keep  salt  for 
many  days  in  a  solid  state,  which  was  not 
the  case  at  Ega,  when  the  baskets  in  which 
it  is  contained  were  well  wrapped  in  leaves. 
Six  degrees  further  westward,  namely,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Andes,  the  dampness  of  the  climate- 
of  the  Amazonian  forest  region  appears  to 
reach  its  acme,  for  Poeppig  found  at  Chin- 
chao  that  the  most  refined  sugar  in  a  few 
days  dissolved  into  syrup,  and  the  best  gun- 
powder became  liquid,  even  when  enclosed 
in  canisters.  At  St.  Paulo  refined  sugar- 
kept  pretty  well  in  tin  boxes,  and  I  had  no 
difficulty  in  keeping  my  gunpowder  dry  in. 
canisters,  although  a  gun  loaded  over-night- 
could  very  seldom  be  fired  off  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

I  remained  at  St.  Paulo  five  months  ;  five 
years  would  not  have  been  sufficient  to  ex- 
haust the  treasures  of  its  neighborhood  in. 
zoology  and  botany.     Although  now  a  for- 
est-rambler  of  ten  years'  experience,    the- 
beautiful  forest  which  surrounds  this  settle- 
ment gave  me  as  much  enjoyment  as  if  I  had . 
only  just  landed  for  the  first  time  in  a  tropi- 
cal country.     Tae  plateau  on  which  the  vil- 
lage is  built  extends  on  one  side  nearly  a 
mile  into  the  forest,  but  on  the  other  side  the 
descent  into  the  lowland  begins  close  to  the 
streets,  the  hill  sloping  abruptly  toward   a 
boggy     meadow     surrounded    by     woods,, 
through  which  a  narrow  winding  path  con- 
tinues the  slope  down  to  a  cool,  shady  glen, 
with  a  brook  of  icy-cold  water  flowing  at  the- 
bottom.     At  mid-day  the  vertical  sun  peiie- 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


709 


Crates  fnto  the  gloomy  depths  of  this  roman- 
tic spot,  lighting  up  the  leafy  banks  of  the 
icivulet  and  its  clean  sandy  margins,  where 
'numbers  of  scarlet,  green,  and  black  tanagers 
-and  brightly-colored  butterflies  sport  about 
in  the  stray  beams.  Sparkling  brooks,  large 
-and  small,  traverse  the  glorious  forest  in  al- 
most every  direction,  and  one  is  constantly 
meeting,  while  rambling  through  the  thick- 
ets, with  trickling  rills  and  bubbling 
springs,  so  well  provided  is  the  country  with 
moisture.  Some  of  the  rivulets  flow  over  a 
«andy  and  pebbly  bed,  and  the  banks  of  all 
are  clothed  with  the  most  magnificent  vege- 
tation conceivable.  I  had  the  almost  daily 
tmbit,  in  my  solitary  walks,  of  resting  on  the 
clean  banks  of  these  swift-flowing  streams, 
;smd  bathing  for  an  hour  at  a  time  in  their 
bracing  waters ;  hours  which  now  remain 
among  my  most  pleasant  memories.  The 
broad  forest  roads  continue,  as  I  was  told,  a 
distance  of  several  days'  journey  into  the  in- 
terior, which  is  peopled  by  Tucunas  and 
other  Indians,  living  in  scattered  houses  and 
villages,  nearly  in  their  primitive  state,  the 
nearest  village  lying  about  six  miles  from  St. 
Paulo.  The  banks  of  all  the  streams  are 
dotted  with  palm-thatched  dwellings  of  Tuc- 
unas, all  half-buried  in  the  leafy  wilderness, 
the  scattered  families  having  chosen  the  cool- 
est and  shadiest  nooks  for  their  abodes. 

I  frequently  heard  in  the  neighborhood  of 
these  huts  the  "  realejo"  or  organ  bird  (Cy- 
phorhinus  cantans),the  most  remarkable  song- 
ster, by  far,  of  the  Amazonian  forests.  When 
its  singular  notes  strike  the  ear  for  the  first 
time  the  impression  cannot  be  resisted  that 
they  are  produced  by  a  human  voice — some 
musical  boy  must  be  gathering  fruit  in  the 
thickets,  and  is  singing  a  few  notes  to  cheer 
himself.  The  tones  become  more  fluty  and 
plaintive  ;  they  are  now  those  of  a  flageolet, 
and  notwithstanding  the  utter  impossibility 
of  the  thing,  one  is  for  the  moment  convinc- 
ed that  somebody  is  playing  that  instrument. 
No  bird  is  to  be  seen,  however  closely  the 
-surrounding  trees  and  bushes  may  be  scan- 
ned, and  yet  the  voice  seems  to  come  from 
the  thicket  close  to  one's  ears.  The  ending 
of  ihe  song  is  rather  disappointing.  It  be- 

fins  with  a  few  very  slow  and  mellow  notes, 
allowing  each  other  like  the  commencement 
of  an  air  ;  one  listens  expecting  to  hear  a 
complete  strain,  but  an  abrupt  pause  occurs, 
-  and  then  the  song  breaks  down,  finishing 
with  a  number  of  clicking  unmusical  sounds 
like  a  piping  barrel-organ  out  of  wind  and 
tune.  I  never  heard  the  bird  on  the  Lower 
Amazons,  and  very  rarely  heard  it  even  at 
Ega  ;  it  is  the  only  songster  which  makes  an 
impression  on  the  natives,  who  sometimes 
rest  their  paddles  while  travelling  in  their 
small  canoes  along  the  shady  by-streams,  as 
\2  struck  by  the  mysterious  sounds. 

The  Tuciina  Indians  are  a  tribe  resembliu* 
much  the  Shumanas,  Passes,  Juris,  and 
Mauhes  in  their  physical  appearance  and  cus- 
toms. They  lead,  like  those  tribes,  a  settled 
agricultural  life,  each  horde  obeying  a  chief 


of  more  or  less  influence,  accordicg  to  hla 
energy  and  ambition,  and  possessing  its  paje 
or  medicine  man,  who  fosters  its  super- 
stitious ;  but  they  are  much  more  idle  and 
debauched  than  other  Indians  belonging  to 
the  superior  tribes.  They  are  not  so  warlike 
and  loyal  as  the  Muudurucus,  although  re- 
sembling them  in  many  respects,  nor  have 
they  the  slender  figures,  dignified  mien,  and 
gentle  disposition  of  the  Passes  ;  there  are, 
however,  no  trenchant  points  of  difference  to 
distinguish  them  from  these  highest  of  all  the 
tribes.  Both  men  and  women  are  tattooed, 
the  pattern  being  sometimes  a  scroll  on  each 
cheek,  but  generally  rows  of  short  straight 
lines  on  the  face.  Most  of  the  older  people 
wear  bracelets  anklets,  and  garters  of  tapir 
hide  or  tough  bark ;  in  their  homes  they 
wear  no  other  dress  except  on  festival  days, 
when  they  ornament  themselves  with  feath- 
ers or  masked  cloaks  made  of  the  inner  bark 
of  a  tree.  They  were  very  shy  when  I  made 
my  first  visits  to  their  habitations  in  the  for 
est,  all  scampering  off  to  the  thicket  when  I 
approached,  but  on  subsequent  days  they 
became  more  familiar,  and  I  found  them  a 
harmless,  good-natured  people. 

A  great  part  of  the  horde  living  at  the  first 
Maloca  or  village  dwell  in  a  common  habita- 
tion, a  large  oblong  hut  built  and  arranged 
inside  with  such  a  disregard  of  all  symmetry 
that  it  appeared  as  though  constructed  by  a 
number  of  hands,  each  working  independ- 
ently, stretching  a  rafter  or  fitting  in  a  pieoe 
of  thatch,  without  reference  to  what  his  fel- 
low-laborers were  doing.  The  walls  as  well 
as  the  roof  are  covered  with  thatch  of  palm 
leaves,  each  piece  consisting  of  leaflets  plaited 
and  attached  in  a  row  to  a  lath  many  feet  in 
length.  Strong  upright  posts  support  the 
roof,  hammocks  being  slung  between  them, 
leaving  a  free  space  for  passage  and  for  fires 
in  the  middle,  and  on  one  side  is  an  elevated 
stage  (girao)  overhead,  formed  of  split  palm- 
stems.  The  Tucunas  excel  most  of  the  other 
tribes  in  the  manufacture  of  pottery.  They 
make  broad- mouthed  jars  for  Tucupi  sauce, 
caysuma  or  mandioca  beer,  capable  of  hold- 
ing twenty  or  more  gallons,  ornamenting 
them  outside  with  crossed  diagonal  streaks 
of  various  colors.  These  jars,  with  cooking- 
pots,  smaller  jars  for  holding  water,  blow- 
guns,  quivers,  matiri  bags  full  of  small  ar- 
ticles, baskets,  skins  of  animals,  and  so  forth, 
form  the  principal  part  of  the  furniture  of 
their  huts,  both  large  and  small.  The  dead 
bodies  of  their  chiefs  are  interred,  the  knees 
doubled  up,  in  large  jars  under  the  floors  of 
their  huts. 

The  semi-religious  dances  and  drinking 
bouts  usual  among  the  settled  tribes  of  Am- 
azonian Indians  are  indulged  in  to  greater 
excess  by  the  Tucunas  than  they  are  by  most 
other  tribes.  The  Jurupari  or  Demon  is  the 
ouiy  superior  being  they  have  any  concep- 
tion of,  and  his  name  is  mixed  up  with  all 
their  ceremonies,  but  it  is  difficult  to  ascer- 
tain what  they  consider  to  be  his  attributes. 
He  seems  to  be  believed  in  simply  as  a  mis- 
chievous  imp,  who  is  at  the  bottom  of  »U 


770 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


those  mishapo  of  their  daily  life,  the  causes 
of  which  are  not  very  immediate  or  obvious 
to  their  dull  understandings.  It  is  vain  t« 
try  to  get  information  out  of  a  Tucuna  on 
this  subject  ;  they  affect  great  mystery  when 
the  name  is  mentioned,  and  give  very  con- 
fused answers  to  questions.  It  was  clear, 
however,  that  the  idea  of  a  spirit  as  a  bene- 
ficent God  or  Creator  had  not  entered  the 
minds  of  these  Indians.  There  is  great  sim- 
ilarity in  all  their  ceremonies  and  mumme- 
ries, whether  the  object  is  a  wedding,  the  cel- 
ebration of  the  feast  of  fruits,  the  plucking 
of  the  hair  from  the  heads  of  their  children, 
or  a  holiday  got  up  simply  out  of  a  love  of 
dissipation.  Some  of  the  tribe  on  these  oc- 
casions deck  themselves  w:th  the  bright- col- 
ored feathers  of  parrots  and  macaws.  Th* 
chief  wears  a  head-dress  or  cap  made  by  fiv 
iuss  the  breast-feathers  of  the  Toucan  on  * 
web  of  Bromelia  twine,  with  ere^t  tail 
plumes  of  macaws  rising  from  the  crown. 
The  cinctures  of  the  arms  and  legs  are  i  Iso 
then  ornamented  with  bunches  of  feathers. 
Others  wear  masked  dresses.  These  are  long 
cloaks  reaching  below  the  knee,  and  made 
Df  the  thick  whitish- colored  inner  bark 
of  a  tree,  the  fibres  of  which  are  inter- 
laced in  so  regular  a  manner,  that  the 
material  looks  like  artificial  cloth.  The 
sloak  covers  the  head  ;  two  holes  are  cut  out 
for  the  eyes,  a  large  round  piece  i*f  the 
sloth  stretched  on  a  rim  of  flexible  wood 
is  stitched  on  each  side  to  represent  ears, 
and  the  features  are  painted  in  exag- 
gerated style  with  yellow,  red,  ank.  'Jack 
itreaks.  The  dresses  are  sewn  into  the  proper 
shapes  with  thread  made  of  the  inner  bark 
Df  the  Uaissima  tree.  Sometimes  grotesque 
head-dresses,  representing  monkeys'  busts  or 
heads  of  other  animals,  made  by  stretchin  g 
sloth  or  skin  over  a  basket-work  frame,  are 
worn  at  these  holidays.  The  biggest  and 
ugliest  mask  represents  the  Jurupari.  In 
these  festival  habiliments  the  Tucunas  go 
through  their  monotonous  see-saw  and  stamp- 
ing dances,  accompanied  by  singing  and 
drumming,  and  keep  up  the  sport  often  for 
three  or  four  days  and  nights  in  succession, 
di  inking  enormous  quantities  of  caysuma, 
smoking  tobacco,  and  snuffing  parica  powder. 
I  could  not  learn  that  there  was  any  deep 
symbolical  meaning  in  these  masked  dances, 
or  that  they  commemorated  any  past  event 
in  the  history  of  the  tribe.  Some  of  them 
seem  vaguely  intended  as  a  propitiation  of 
the  Jurupari,  but  the  masker  who  represents 
the  demon  sometimes  gets  drunk  along  with 
the  rest,  and  is  not  treated  with  any  rever- 
ence. From  all  I  could  make  out,  these  In- 
dians preserve  no  memory  of  events  going 
beyond  the  times  of  their  fathers  or  grand- 
fathers. Almost  every  joyful  event  is  made 
the  occasion  of  a  festival — weddings  among 
the  rest.  A  young  man  who  wishes  to  wed 
a  Tucuna  girl  has  to  demand  her  hand  of  her 
parents,  who  arrange  the  rest  of  the  affair 
and  fix  a  day  for  the  marriage  ceremony.  A 
wedding  which  took  place  in  the  Christmaf 
•week  while  I  was  at  St.  Paulo,  was  kept  up 


with  great  spirit  for  three  or  fotw  day»,  ttitg 
ging  during  the  heats  of  mid-day,  bat  renew- 
ing itself  with  increased  vigor  every  even- 
ing. During  the  whole  time  the  bride,  deck- 
ed out  with  feather  oinaments,  was  under 
the  charge  of  the  older  squaws,,  whose  busi- 
ness seemed  to  be  sedulously  to  keep  the 
bridegroom  at  a  safe  distance  until  the  end 
of  the  dreary  period  of  dancing  and  boosing. 
The  Tucunas  have  the  singular  custom,  ID- 
common  with  the  Colliuas  and  Mauhes,  of 
treating  their  young  girlsr  on  their  showing, 
the  first  signs  of  womanhood,  as  if  they  had 
committed  some  crime.  They  are  sent  up  to. 
the  girao  under  the  smoky  and  filthy  roof,, 
and  kept  there  on  very  meagre  diet,,  some- 
times for  a  whole  month.  I  heard  of  ona 
poor  girl  dying  under  this  treatment. 

^he  only  other  tribe  of  this  neighborhood 
concerning  which  1  obtained  any  informa- 
tion where  the  Majeronas,  whose  territory- 
embraces  several  hundred  miles  of  the  west- 
ern bank  of  the  River  Jauari,  an  affluent  of 
the  Solimoens,  120  miles  beyond  St.  Paulo. 
These  are  a  fierce,  indomitable,  and  hostile; 
people,  like  the  Aiaias  of  the  River  Madeira  ; 
they  are  also  cannibals.  The  navigation  of 
the  Jauari  is  rendered  impossible  on  account 
of  the  Majer6nas  lying  ID  wait  on  its  banks 
to  intercept  and  murder  all  travellers,  espe- 
cially whites. 

Four  months  before  my  arrival  at  St.  Pau- 
lo, two  young  half-castes  (nearly  white)  of 
the  village  went  to  trade  on  the  Jauari,  the 
Majeionas  having  shown  signs  of  abating; 
their  hostility  for  a  year  or  two  previously. 
They  had  not  been  long  gone,  when  their 
cante  returned  with  the  news  that  the  two 
young  fellows  had  been  shot  with  arrows, 
roasted,  and  eaten  by  the  savages.  Jose  Pa- 
tricio,  with  his  usual  activity  in  the  cause  off 
law  and  order,  despatched  a  party  of  aimed 
men  of  the  National  Guard  to  the  place  to 
make  inquiries,  and,  if  the  murder  should 
appear  to  be  unprovoked,  to  retaliate.  When 
they  reached  the  setthment  of  the  horde  who 
had  eaitn  the  two  men,  .U  was  found  evacu- 
ated, with  the  exception  of  one  giil,  who  had 
been  in  the  woods  when  the  rest  of  her  peo- 
ple had  taken  flight,  and  whom  the  guards 
brought  wuh  tiitm  to  St.  Paulo.  It  was 
gathered  from  her,  and  from  other  Indians 
on  the  Jauari,  that  the  young  men  had 
brought  their  fate  on  themselves  through 
improper  conduct  towaid  the  MajeroDa 
women.  The  girl,  on  arriving  at  St.  Paulo, 
was  taken  care  of  by  Senhor  Jose  Patricio, 
baptized  under  the  name  of  Maria,  and  taught 
Portuguese.  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  her,  lor 
my  friend  sent  her  daily  to  my  house  to  fill 
the  water  jars,  make  the  fire,  and  so  forth.  I 
also  gained  her  good  will  by  extracting  the 
grub  of  an  (Estrus  fly  from  her  back,  and 
thus  cured  her  of  a  painful  tumor.  She  was 
decidedly  the  best-humored  and,  to  all  ap- 
pearance, the  kindest-hearted  specimen  of 
her  race  I  had  yet  seen.  She  was  tall  and 
very  stout ;  in  color  much  lighter  than  the 
ordinary  Indian  tint,  and  her  ways  alto- 
gether were  more  like  those  of  a  caieless. 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


laughing  country  wench,  such  as  might  be  walk  in  the  forest.     The  fit  of  shi vei  m*  very 

met  with  any  day  among  the  laboring  class  often  seized  me  before  I  got  home,  and!  then 

in  villages  in  our  own  country,  than  a  canni-  used  to  stand  still  and  brave  it  out.     When 

bal.     I  heard  this  artless  maiden  relate,  in  the  steamer  ascended  in  January  1858,  Lieu- 

the  coolest  manner  possible,  how  she  ate  a  tenant  Nunes  was  shocked  to  see  me  so  much 

portion    of   the   bodies  of  the  young  men  shattered,  and  recommended  me  strongly  to 

whom  her  tribe  had  roasted.    But  what  in-  return  at  once  to  Ega.    I  took  bis  advice, 

creased  greatly  the  incongruity  of  this  busi-  and  embarked  with  him,  when  he  touched 

ness,  the  yoang  widow  of  one  of  the  victims,  at  St.  Paulo  on  his  downward  voyage,  on 

a  neighbor  of  mine,  happened  to  be  present  the  2d  of    February.     I  still  hoped  to  1>  j 

during  the  narrative,  and  showed  her  interest  able  to  turn  my  face  westward  again,   t  > 

in  it  by  laughing  at  the  broken  Portuguese  in  gather  the  yet  unseen  treasures  of  the  mar- 

which  the  girl  related  the  horrible  storjr  vellous  countries    lying  between  Tabitinga 

and  the  slopes  of  the  Andes  ;  but  although, 
after  a  short  rest  in  Ega,  the  ague  left  me, 
my  general  health  remained  in  a  state  too 

the    "sizoens,"    or    ague    of    the  country,  weak  to  justify  the  undertaking  of  further 

which,  as  it  left  me  with  shattered  health  journeys.    At  length  I  left  Ega,  on  the  3d 

and  damped  enthusiasm,  led  to  my  abandon-  of  February,  1859,  en  route  for  England, 
ing  the  plan  I  had  formed  of  proceeding  to  >     I  arrived  at  Para  on  the  17th  of  March, 

the  Peruvian   towns  of  Pebas  and  Moyo-  after  an  absence  in  the  interior  of  seven  year  a  . 

bamba,  250  and  600  miles  further  west,  and  and  a  half.     My  old  friends,  English,  Amer- 

so  completing  the  examination  of  the  natural  ican,  and  Brazilian,  scarcely  knew  me  again, 

|  history  of  the  'Amazonian  plains  up  to  the  but  all  gave  me  a  very_  warm  welcome,  es- 
foot  of  the  Andes.  I  made  a  very  large  col- 
lection at  St.  Paulo,  and  employed  a  collec- 
tor at  Tabatiuga  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jauari  for  several  months,  so  that  I  acquired 
a  very  fair  knowledge  altogether  of  the  pro- 


In  the  fourth  month  of  my  sojourn  «t  <rit. 
Paulo  I  had  a  serious  illness,  an  attack  of 


ductions  of  the  country  bordering  the  Ama- 
j  zons  to  the  end  of  the  Brazilian  territory,  a 
distance  of  1900  miles  from  the  Atlantic  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Para  ;  but  beyond  the  Pe- 
ruvian boundary  I  found  now  I  should  be 


pecially  Mr.  George  Brocklehurst  (of  the 
firm  of  R.  Singlehurst  &  Co.,  the  chief 
foreign  merchants,  who  had  been  iny  corre- 
spondents), who  received  me  into  his  house, 
and  treated  me  with  the  utmost  kindness.  I 
was  rather  surprised  at  the  warm  appreciation 
shown  by  many  of  the  principal  people  of 
my  labors  ;  but,  in  fact,  the  interior  of  the 
country  is  still  the  "  sertao"  (wilderness)— a 
terra  incognita  to  most  residents  of  the  sea- 


I  unable  to  go.     My  ague  seemed  to  be  the    port — and  a  man  who  had  spent  seven  years 
I  culmination  of  a  gradual    deterioration    of    and  a  half  in  exploring  it,  solely  with  scien 
|  health,  which  had  been  going  on  for  several    ' 
years.     I  had  exposed  myself  too  much  in 

of    my 

suffered 


the  sun,   working  to  the    utmost 
strength  six  days  a  week,  and  had 
much,    besides,    from  bad  and  insufficient 
food.     The  ague  did  not  exist  at  St.  Paulo  ; 
ibut  the  foul  and  humid  state  of  the  village 
•  was,  perhaps,  sufficient  to  produce  ague  in  a 
person  much  weakened  from  other  causes. 
The  country  bordering  the  shores  of  the  Sol- 
!  imoens  is  healthy  throughout ;  some  endemic 
diseases  certainly  exist,  but  these  are  not  of 
a  fatal  nature,  and  the  epidemics  which  des- 
olated the  Lower  Amazons  from  Para  to  the 
'  Rio  Negro,  between  the  years  1850  and  1856, 
i  had  never  reached  this  favored  land.     Ague 
I  is  endemic  only  on  the  banks  of  those  tribu 
i  tary    streams    which    have     dark 
water. 


tific  aims,  was  somewhat  of  a  curiosity.  I 
found  Para  greatly  changed  and  improved. 
It  was  no  longer  the  weedy,  ruinous,  village- 
looking  place  that  it  appeared  when  I  first 
knew  it  in  1848.  The  population  had  been 
increased  (to  20,000)  by  an  influx  of  Portu- 
guese, Madeiran,  and  German  immigrants, 
and  for  many  years  past  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment hard  spent  their  considerable  sur- 
plus revenue  in  beautifying  the  city.  The 
streets,  formerly  unpaved  or  strewn  with 
loose  stones  and  sand,  were  now  laid  with 
concrete  in  a  most  complete  manner  ;  all  the 
projecting  masonry  of  the  irregularly-built 
houses  had  been  cleared  away,  and  the  build- 
ings made  more  uniform.  Most  of  the  dilap- 
idated houses  were  replaced  by  handsome 
new  edifices,  having  long  and  elegant  balco- 
nies :.ronting  the  first  floors,  at  an  elevation 
of  several  feet  above  the  roadway.  The  large 


I  always  carried  a  stock  of  medicine*,  *Mth  .  ..„ . 

me  ;  and"  a  small  vial  of  quinine,  which  I  swampy  squares  had  been  drained,   weeded, 

had  bought  at  Para  in  1851,  but  never  yet  and  planted  with  rows  of  almond  and  casua- 

i  had  use  for,  now  came  in  very  useful.     I  rina  trees,  so  that  they  were  now  a  great  or- 

!  took  for  each  dose  as  much  as  would  lie  on  nament  to  the  city,  instead  of  an  eyesore,  as 

the  tip  of  a  penknife- blade,  mixing  it  with  they  formerly  were.     My  old  favorite  road. 

warm  chamomile  tea.      The  first  few  days  the  Monguba  Avenue,  had  been  renovated 

after  my  first  attack  I  could  not  stir,  and  and  joined  to  many  other  magnificent  rides 

was  delirious  during  the  paroxysms  of  fever  ;  lined  with  trees,  which  in  a  very  few  years 

!  but  the  worst  being  over,  I  made  an  effort  to  had  grown  to  a  height  sufficient  to  afford 

\  rouse  myself,  knowing  that  incurable  disor-  agreeable  shade  ;  one  of  these,  the  Estrada 

ders  of  the  liver  and  spleen  follow  ague  in  this  de  Sao  Jose,  had  been  planted  with  cocoa-nut 

country  if  the  feeling  of  lassitude  is  too  much  palms.     Sixty  public  vehicles,  light  cabriolets 

indulged.     So  every  morning  I  shouldered  (some  of  them  built  in  Para.),  now  plied  in 

my  gun  or  insect-net,  and  went  my  us»«l  jhe  streets,  increasing  much  the  animation  of 


Y72 


THE  NATURALIST  ON    THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


'the  beautiful  squares,  streets,  and  avenues.  ' 
I  found  also  the  habits  of  the  people  con- 
siderably changed.  Many  of  the  old  religious 
holidays  had  declined  in  importance,  and 
-.given  way  to  secular  amusements — social 
parties,  balls,  music,  billiards,  and  so  forth. 
There  was  quite  as  much  pleasure-seeking  as 
formerly,  but  it  was  turned  iu  a  more  rational 
•direction,  and  the  Paraenses  seemed  now  to 
copy  rather  the  customs  of  the  noithern  na- 
tions of  Europe,  than  those  of  the  mother- 
country,  Portugal.  I  was  glad  to  see  seve- 
jal  new  book-sellers'  shops,  and  also  a  fine 
•edifice  devoted  to  a  reading-room,  supplied 
wilh  periodicals,  globes,  and  maps,  and  a  cir- 
culating library.  There  were  now  many 
pi  hit  ing  offices,  and  four  daily  newspapers. 
The  health  of  the  place  had  greatly  improved 
since  1850,  the  year  of  the  yellow  fever,  and 
Para  was  now  considered  no  longer  danger- 
ous t  >  new  comers. 

S  >  much  for  the  improvements  vishile  in 
the  place,  and  now  for  the  dark  side  of  the 
picture.  Tke  expenses  of  living  had  in- 
creased about  fourfold,  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  demand  for  labor  and  for  native  pro- 
ducts of  all  kinds  having  augmented  in 
.greater  ratio  than  the  supply,  through  large 
•arrivals  of  non  -  productive  residents,  and 
considerable  importations  of  money  on  ac- 
r  >uut  of  the  steamboat  company  and  foreign 
merchants.  Para,  in  1848,  was  one  of  the 
cheapest  places  of  residence  on  the  American 
continent  ;  it  was  now  one  of  the  dearest. 
Imported  articles  of  fo:>d,  clothing,  an:l  fur- 
niture were  mostly  cheaper,  although  charged 
with  duties  varying  from  18  to  80  per  cent, 
besides  high  freights  an  1  large  profits,  than 
those  produced  in  the  neighborhood.  Salt 
codfish  was  twopence  per  pound  cheaper 
than  the  vile  salt  pirarucu  of  the  country. 
Oranges,  which  could  formerly  be  had  al- 
most gratis,  were  now  sold  in  the  streets  at 
the  rate  of  three  for  a  penny  ;  large  bananas 
were  a  penny  each  ;  tomatoes  were  from 
twopence  to  threepence  each,  and  all  other 
fruit  in  this  fruit-producing  country  had  ad- 
vanced in  like  proportion.  Mandioca-meal, 
Ihe  bread  of  the  country,  had  become  so 
scarce  and  dear  and  bad,  that  the  poorer 
classes  of  natives  suffered  famine,  and  all 
who  could  afford  it  were  obliged  to  eat 
wheaten  bread  at  fourpence  t;>  fivepence  per 
pound,  made  from  American  flour,  1200  bar- 
j»  Is  of  which  were  consumed  monthly  ;  this 
\vas  now,  therefore,  a  very  serious  item  of 
daily  expense  to  all  but  the  most  wealthy. 
House-rent  was  most  exorbitant ;  a  miser- 
able little  place  of  two  rooms,  without  fix- 
tures or  conveniences  of  any  kind,  having 
simply  blank  walls,  cost  at  the  rale  of  £18 
sterling  a  year.  Lastly,  the  hire  of  servants 
"was  beyond  the  means  of  all  persons  in  mod- 
erate circumstances  ;  a  lazy  cook  or  porter 
could  not  be  had  for  less  than  three  or  four 
shillings  a  day,  besides  his  board  and  what 
he  could  steal.  It  cost  me  balf-a-crown  for 
the  hire  of  a  small  boat  and  one  man,  to  dis- 
embark from  the  steamer,  a  distance  of  100 
yards. 


In  rambling  over  my  old  ground  in  th« 
forests  of  the  neighborhood,  I  found  great 
changes  had  taken  place — tome,  changes  for 
the  worse.  The  mantle  of  shrubs,  bushes, 
and  creeping  plants  which  formerly,  when 
the  suburbs  were  undisturbed  by  axe  01 
spade,  had  been  left  free  to  arrange  itself  hi 
rich,  full,  and  smooth  sheets  and  masses  ovei 
the  forest  borders,  had  been  nearly  all  cut 
away,  and  troops  of  laborers  were  still  em- 
ployed  cutting  ugly  muddy  roads  for  carts 
and  cattle,  through  the  once  clean  and  lonely 
woods.  Houses  and  mills  had  been  erected 
on  the  borders  of  these  new  roads  The 
noblo  forest  trees  had  been  cut  down,  and 
their  naked  half- burned  stems  remained  in 
the  midst  of  ashes,  muddy  puddles,  arid 
heaps  of  broken  branches.  I  was  obliged  to 
hire  a  negro  boy  to  show  me  the  way  to  my 
favorite  path  near  Una,  which  I  have  de- 
Fcribed  in  the  second  chapter  of  this  narra- 
tive, the  new  clearings  having  quite  oblit- 
erated the  old  forest  roads.  Only  a  few 
acres  of  the  glorious  forest  near  Una  now  re- 
mained in  their  natural  state.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  city,  near  the  old  road  to  the  rice 
mills,  several  scores  of  woodmen  were  em- 
ployed, under  government,  in  cutting  a 
broad  carriage  -  road  through  the  forest  to 
Maranham,  the  capital  of  the  neighboring 
province,  distant  250  miles  from  Para,  and 
this  had  entirely  destroyed  the  solitude  of  the 
grand  o'd  forest  path.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  however,  a  new  growth  of  creepers 
will  cover  the  naked  tree-trunks  on  the  bor- 
ders of  this  new  road,  and  luxuriant  shrubs 
form  a  green  fringe  to  the  path  ;  it  will  then 
become  as  beautiful  a  woodland  road  as  the 
old  one  was.  A  naturalist  will  have,  hence- 
forward, to  go  farther  from  the  city  to  find 
the  glorious  forest  scenery  which  lay  so  near 
in  1848,  and  work  much  more  laboriously 
than  was  formerly  needed,  to  make  the  large 
collections  which  Mr.  Wallace  and  I  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Para. 
June  2d,  1859. — At  length,  on  the  second 
of  June,  I  left  Para,  probably  forever  ;  em« 
barking  iu  a  North  American  trading- vessel, 
the  Frederick  Demming,  for  New  York,  the 
United  States  route  being  the  quickest  as 
well  as  the  pleasantest  way  of  reaching  Eng- 
land. My  extensive  private  collections  were 
divided  into  three  portions,  and  sent  by  three 
separate  ships,  to  lessen  the  risk  of  loss  of 
the  whole.  On  the  evening  of  the  3d  of 
June,  I  took  a  last  view  of  the  glorious  forest 
for  which  I  had  so  much  love,  and  to  ex- 
plore which  I  had  devoted  so  many  years. 
The  saddest  hours  I  ever  recollect  to  have 
spent  were  those  of  the  succeeding  night, 
when,  the  mameluco  pHot  Laving  left  us  free 
of  the  shoals  and  out  of  sight  of  land,  though 
within  the  mouth  of  the  river,  at  anchor, 
waiting  for  the  wind,  I  felt  that  the  last  link 
which  connected  me  with  the  land  of  so 
many  pleasing  recollections  was  broken. 
The  Paraenses,  who  are  fully  aware  of  the 
attractiveness  of  their  country,  have  an  al- 
literative proverb,  ' '  Quern  vai  para  (o)  Para 
para/'  "  He  whojfc-vs  io  Para  stfj>s  there." 


THE  NATURALIST  ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


and  T  had  often  thought  I  should  myself  have 
been  added  to  the  list  of  examples.  The  de- 
sire, however,  of  seeing  again  my  parents  and 
enjoying  once  more  the  rich  pleasures  of  in- 
tellect aai  society  had  succeeded  in  overcom- 
ing tLe  attractions  of  a  region  which  niay  be 
fittingly  called  a  Naturalist's  Paradise.  Dur- 
ing this  last  night  on  the  Para  River  a  crowd 
of  unusual  thoughts  occupied  my  mind. 
Recollections  of  English  climate,  scenery, 
and  modes  of  life  came  to  me  with  a  vivid- 
ness I  had  never  before  experienced  during 
the  eleven  years  of  my  absence.  Pictures  of 
startling  clearness  rose  up  of  the  gloomy  win- 
ters, the  long  gray  twilights  murky  atmos- 
phere, elongated  shadows,  chilly  springs,  and 
sloppy  summers  ;  of  factory  chimneys  and 
crowds  of  grimy  operatives,  rung  to  work  in 
early  morning  by  factory  bells  ;  of  union 
workhouses,  confined  rooms,  artificial  cares, 
and  slavish  conventionalities.  To  live  again 
amid  these  dull  scenes  I  was  quitting  a  coun- 
try of  perpetual  summer,  where  my  life  had 
been  spent,  like  that  of  three  fourths  of  the 
people,  in  gypsy  fashion,  on  the  endless 
streams  or  in  the  boundless  forests.  I  was 
leaving  the  equator,  where  the  well-balanced 
forces  of  nature  maintained  a  land-surface  and 
climate  that  seemed  to  be  typical  of  mundane 
order  and  beauty,  to  sail  toward  the  North 
Pole,  where  lay  my  home  under  crepuscular 
skies  somewhere  about  fifty-two  degrees  of 
latitude.  It  was  natural  to  feel  a  little  dis- 
mayed at  the  prospect  of  so  great  a  change  ; 
but  now,  after  three  years  of  renewed  expe- 


rience 01  England,  I  find  now  incomparably 
superior  is  civilized   life,  where    feelings, 
tastes,  and  intellect  find  abundant  nourish- 
ment, to  the  spiritual  sterility  of  half-savage 
existence,  even  though  it  be  passed  in  the- 
Garden  of  Eden.     What  has  struck  ma  pow- 
erfully is  the  immeasurably  greater  diversity 
and  interest  of  human  character  and  social 
conditions  in  a  single  civilized  nation,  than 
in  equatorial  South  America,  where  three - 
distinct  races  of   men  live  together.     The 
superiority  of  the  bleak  north  to  tropical  re- 
gions, however,  is  only  in  their  social  aspect ; 
for  I  hold  to  the  opinion  that,  although  hu- 
manity can  reach  an  advanced  state  of  cul- 
ture only  by  battling  with  the  inclemencies 
of  nature  in  high  latitudes,  it  is  under  the- 
equator  alone  that  the  perfect  race  of  the- 
future  will  attain  to  complete  fruition  of 
man's  beautiful  heritage,  the  earth. 

The  following  day,  having  no  wind,  we 
drifted  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Para  with  the 
current  of  freshwater  that  is  poured  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  in  twenty- four 
hours  advanced  in  this  way  seventy  miles  on 
our  road.     On  the  6th  of  June,  when  in  7* 
55'  N.  lat.  and  52°  30'  W.  long.,  and  there- 
fore about  400  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the- 
main  Amazons,  we  passed  numerous  patches 
of  floating  grass  mingled  with  tree-trunks  and. 
withered  foliage.    Among  these  masses  I  es- 
pied many  fruits  of  that  peculiarly  Amazo- 
nian tree  the  Ubussu  palm  ;   this  was  the? 
last  I  saw  of  the  Great  River. 


THE  END. 


CONTENTS. 


CHIP.  PAG« 

I.— PARA:  Arrival— Aspect  of  the  country— The 
Para  River— First  walk  in  the  suburbs  of 
Para— Birds,  Lizards,  and  Insects  of  the  sub- 
urbs—Leaf-carrying  Ant— Sketch  of  the  cli- 
mate, history  and  present  condition  of  Para..  623 

n.— PARA:  The  swampy  forest  of  Para— A  Por- 
tuguese landed  proprietor— Country  house  at 
Nazareth— Life  of  a  Naturalist  under  the 

!  Equator— The  dryer  virgin  forests— Magoary 
—Retired  creeks—  Aborigines 680 

III.— PARA:  Religious  holidays  —  Marmoset 
Monkey s— Serpents— Insects 639 

IV.— THE  TOCANTINS  AND  CAMBTA:  Preparations 
for  the  journey— The  bay  of  Goajara— Grove 
of  fan-leaved  palms— The  lower  Tocantins— 
Sketch  of  the  river— Vista  alegre— Baia.6— 
Rapids— Boat  journey  to  the  Guanba  falls- 
Native  life  on  the  Tocantins— Second  journey 
toCameta 644 

V.— CARIP!  AND  THE  BAY  OF  MARAJ6:  River 
Parfi,  and  Bay  of  Mara  jo—Journey  to  Caripi— 


CHAP.  PAQKT 

Negro  observance  of  Christmas— A  German 
family— Bats— Ant-eaters—  Humming-birds- 
Excursion  to  the  Murucupi— Domestic  life  of 
the  inhabitants— Hunting  excursion  with  In- 
dians—White  Ants .-.  657 

VI.— THE  LOWER  AMAZONS— PARA  TO  OBYDOS: 
Modes  of  travelling  on  the  Amazons— His- 
torical sketch  of  the  early  explorations  of  the 
river— Preparations  for  voyage— Life  on  board 
a  large  trading  vessel— The  narrow  channels 
joining  the  Para  to  the  Amazons— First  sight 
of  the  great  river— Gurupa— The  great  shoal— 
Flat-topped  mountains— Santaren— Obydos..  665* 

VII.— THE  LOWER  AMAZONS— OBYDOS  TO  MAN- 
AOS,  OR  THE  BARRAOF  THE  Rio  NEGRO:  De- 
parture from  Obydos— River  banks  and  by- 
channels— Cacao  planters— Daily  life  on  board 
our  vessel— Great  storm— Sand  island  and  its 
birds— Hill  of  Parentins— Negro  trader  and 
Mauhes  Indians— Ville  Nova,  its  inhabitants, 
forest,  and  animal  productions- Canumwu — 


YT4 


THE  NATURALIST   ON  THE  RIVER  AMAZONS. 


CHAP.  PAG« 

A  rustic  festival— Lake  of  Cararaucfi— Motuca 
flies— Serpa— Christmas  holidays— River  Ma- 
deira— A  mameluco  fanner — Mura  Indians — 
Rio  Negro— Description  of  Barra— Descent  to 
Para- Yellow  fever 674 

TIU.— SANTAKKM:  Situation  of  Santare n>— Man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  inhabitants— Climate 
— Grassy  campos  and  woods — Excursions  to 
Mapiri,  Mahica,  and  Irura,  with  sketches  of 
their  Natural  History;  Palms,  Wildfruit- 
trees,  Mining  Wasps,  Mason  Wasps,  Bees,  and 
Sloths 689 

IX.— VOYAGE  UP  THE  TAPAJOS:  Preparations  for 
voyage — First  day's  sail — Loss  of  boat— Altar 
do  Chao-Modes  of  obtaining  fish-Difficulties 
with  crew — Arrival  At  Aveyros — Excursions 
in  the  neighborhood-  White  Cebus,  and  habits 
and  dispositions  of  Cebi  Monkeys— Tame  Par- 
rot— Missionary  settlement — Enter  the  river 
Cupari— Adventure  with  Anaconda— Smoke- 
dried  Monkey— Boa-constrictor— Village  of 
Mundurucu  Indians,  and  incursion  of  a  wild 
tribe— Falls  of  the  Cupari— Hyacin  thine  Ma- 
caw— Re-emerge  into  the  broad  Tapajos — 
Descent  of  river  to  Santarem 698 

X.— THE  UPPER  AMAZONS— VOYAGE  TO  EGA:  De- 
parture from  Barra — First  day  and  night  on 
the  Upper  Amazons— Desolate  appearance  of 


CHAP.  PAGK 

river  in  the  flood  season— Cucama  Indians- 
Men  taPcondition  of  Indians— Squalls— Manatee 
— Forest — Floating  pumice-stones  from  the 
Andes— Falling  banks-Ega  and  its  inhabitants 
—Daily  life  of  a  Naturalist  at  Ega— The  four 
seasons  of  the  Upper  Amazons ...  716 

XI.— EXCURSIONS  IN  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  EGA: 
The  River  Teffe— Rambles  through  groves  on 
the  beach — Excursion  to  the  house  of  a  Passe 
chieftain— Character  and  customs  of  the  Passfi 
tribe — First  excursion  to  the  sand  islands  of 
the  Solimoens— Habits  of  great  river  turtle- 
Second  excursion— Turtle  fishing  in  the  inland 
pools — Third  excursion  —  Hunting  rambles 
with  natives  in  the  forest— Return  to  Ega 730 

XII.— ANIMALS  OF  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  EGA: 
Sarlet-faced  Monkeys — Parauacu  Monkey — 
Owl-faced  Night-apes— Marmosets— Jupura— 
Bats— Birds— Cuvier's  Toucan— Curl -crested 
Toucan— Insects— Pendulous  Cocoons— Forag- 
ing Ants— Blind  Ants 750 

XIII. — EXCURSIONS  BEYOND  EGA:  Steamboat 
travelling  on  the  Amazons— Passengers— Tu- 
nantins— Caishana  Indians— The  Jutahf— The 
Sap6 — Maraud  Indians — Fonte  Boa — Journey 
to  St.  Paulo— Tucuna  Indians— Illness— De- 
scent to  Para— Changes  at  Para— Departure 
for  England 768 


TEN  BOOKS  FOR  THE  PRICE  OF  ONE. 


The  Humboldt  Library  of  Science 

Is  the  only  publication  of  its  kind,  the  only  one  containing  popular  scientific  works 

at  low  prices.    For  the  most  part  it  contains  only  works  of  acknowledged 

excellence,  by  authors  of  the  first  rank  in  the  world  of  science. 

In  this  series  are  well  represented  the  writings  of 

DARWIN,  HUXLEY,  SPENCER,  TYNDALL,  PROCTOR. 

CLIFFORD,  CLODD,  -      BAGEHOT,  BAIN,  BATES, 

WALLACE,  TRENCH,  ROMANES,  GRANT  ALLEN,  GEIKIE, 

HINTON,  SULLY,  FLAMMARION,  PICTON,  WILLIAMS* 

BALFOUR  STEWART,  WILSON, 

And  other  leaders  of  thought  in  our  time.    The  books  are  Complete  and  Unabridged 
Editions,  in  Neat  Paper  Covers. 


Price,  FIFTEEN  Cents  a  Number.         Double  Numbers,  THIRTY  Cents. 

fHo.    i.    Light  Science  for  Leisure  Hours. 

No.  16.    On   the   Origin   of  Species.     By- 

A  series  of  familiar  essays  on  astro- 

Thomas H.  Huxley,  F.R.S. 

nomical  and  other  natural  phenome- 
na.   By  Richard  A.  troctor,  F.R.A.S. 

No.    2.    Forms    of  "Water   in    Clouds    and 

No.  17.    Progress  :   Its  Law  and  Cause.. 

With  other  disquisitions.    By  Herbert 
Spencer. 

Rivers,  Ice  and  Glaciers.  (19  illustra- 
tions).   By  John  Tyndall,  F.R.S. 

No.  18.    Lessons  in  Electricity,  (sixty  illus- 
trations).   By  John  Tyndall,  F.R.S. 

No.   3.    Physics  and   Politics.    An  appli- 
cation  of  the  principles  of  Natural 
Science     to     Political     Society.      By 

No.  19.    Familiar   Essays    on   Scientific- 
Subjects.    By  Richard  A.  Proctor. 

Walter     Bagehot.    author   of    "The 
English  Constitution." 

No.  20.    The   Romance   of   Astronomy* 

By  R.  Kalley  Miller,  M.A. 

No.   4.    Man's    Place    in    Nature,    (with 

numerous  illustrations).    By  Thomas 
H.  Huxley,  F.R.S. 

No.  21.    The  Physical  Rasls  of  Life,  with 
other  essays.     By  Thomas  H.  Huxley», 
F.R.S. 

No.   5.    Education,  Intellectual,  Moral,  and 
Physical.    By  Herbert  Spencer. 

No.  22.    Seeing  and  Thinking.  By  William. 

Kingdon  Clifford,  F.R.S. 

No.   6.    Town  Geology.    With  Appendix  on 
Coral  and  Coral  Reefs.    By  Rev.  Chas. 

No.  23.    Scientific  Sophisms.    A  review  of 
current  theories  concerning  Atoms» 

Kingsley. 

Apes  and  Men.     By  Samuel  Wain-^ 

No.   7.    The   Conservation    of  Energy, 

wright,  D.D. 

(with    numerous   illustrations).       By 
Balfour  Stewart,  LI,.D. 

No.  24.    Popular      Scientific     Lectures.. 

(illustrated).    By  Prof.  H.  Helmholtz* 

No.   8.    The  Study  of  Languages,  brought 

back  to  its  true  principles.     By  C. 
Marcel. 

No.  25.    The  Origin  of  Nations.     By  Prof.. 

Geo.  Rawlinson,   Oxford  University.. 

No.  9.    The  Data  of  Ethics.     By  Herbert 
Spencer. 

No.  26.    The  Evolutionist  at  Large.     By- 
Grant  Allen. 

No.  10.    The    Theory    of   Sound    in    Its 
Relation    to    Music,   (numerous 

No.  27.    The   History  of    Landholdiug 

in  England.     By  Joseph  Fisher/ 

illustrations).     By  Prof.  Pietro  Blas- 

F.R.H.S. 

erna. 

No.  28.    Fashion  In   Deformity,  as  illus- 

f The   Naturalist   on  the    River 

trated  in  the  customs  of  Barbarous; 

No.  II.  \     Amazon.    A  record  of  n  years  of 
1     travel.       By    Henry    Walton    Bates, 
Sfo,  12.  y      F.I,.S.     (Double  number.      Not  sold 

and  Civilized  Races,  (numerou   illus- 
trations).   By  William  Henry  Flower, 
F.R.S. 

I.    separately).                              „  .^ 

No.  29.    Facts  and  Fictions  of  Zoology, 

No.  13.    JWlnd  and  Rody.     The  theories  of 

(numerous  illustrations).    By  Andrew 

their  relation.    By  Alex.  Bain,  U,.D. 

Wilson,  Ph.  D. 

No.  14.    iThe  Wonders  of  the  Heaven*, 

(thirty-two  illustrations).    By  Camille 

No.  30.    The  Study  of  Word*.    Parti.    By  I 
Richard  Chenevix  Trench. 

Flammarion. 

No.  31.    The  Study  of  Word*.    Part  II. 

4ib«  15.    Longevity.    The  means  of  prolong- 
ing life  after  middle  age.    By  John 
Gardner,  M.D. 

No.  3*    Hereditary    Traits    and    Other* 

Essays.    By  Ricfiard  A.  Proctor. 

THE  HUMBQLDT  LIBRARY  OF  SCIENCE. 


TNo.  33.    Vignettes  from  Nature.    By  Grant 

Allen. 

No.  34.    The    Philosophy    of    Style.     By 

Herbert  Spencer. 

:  No.  35.  Oriental  Religions.  By  John  Caird, 
Pres.  Univ.  Glasgow,  and  Others. 

No.  36.  Lectures  on  Evolution.  (Illus- 
trated). By  Prof.  T.  H.  Huxley. 

:is*o.  37.  Six  Lectures  on  Light.  (Illus- 
trated). By  Prof.  Tyndall. 

LNo.  38.  Geological  Sketches.  Parti.  By 
Archibald  Geikie,  F.R.S. 

No.  39.    Geological  Sketches.    Part  II. 

;  No.  40.  The  Evidence  of  Organic  Evo- 
lution. By  George  J.  Romanes, 
F.R.S. 

No.  41.    Current  Discussion  in  Science. 

By  W.  M.  Williams,  F.C.S. 

I  No.  42.  History  of  the  Science  of  Poll- 
lies.  By  Frederick  Pollock. 

.:  No.  43.  Darwin  and  Humboldt.  By  Prof. 
Huxley,  Prof.  Agassiz,  and  others. 

J-No.  44.  The  Dawn  of  History.  Parti.  By 
G.  F.  Keary,  of  the  British  Museum. 

-No.  45-    The  Dawn  of  History.   Part  II. 

:No.  46.    The   Diseases   of  Memory.      By 

Th.    Ribot.      Translated     from    the 
French  by  J.  Fitzgerald,  M.A. 

No.  47.    The  Childhood  of  Religion.    By 

Edward  Clodd,  F.R.A.S. 

I2*o.  48.  Life  in  Nature.  (Illustrated).  By 
James  Hinton. 

JNo.  49.  The  Sun :  its  Constitution,  its  Phe- 
nomena, its  Condition.  By  Judge 
Nathan  T.  Carr. 

"No.  50.    Money  and  the  Mechanism  of 

Exchange.     By  Prof.  W.  Stanley 
Jevons,  F.R.S.    Part  I. 

2*o.  51.  Money  and  the  Mechanism  of 
Exchange.  Part  II. 

2*0.52.    The   Diseases   of  the   Will.    By 

Th.    Ribot.      Translated     from    the 
French  by  J.  Fitzgerald,  M.A. 

Animal   Automatism,  and  other 
Essays.  By  Prof.  T.  H.  Huxley,  F.R.S. 

'.No.  54.    The  Birth  and  Growth  of  Myth. 

By  Edward  Clodd,  F.R.A.S. 

.2*0.  55.    The  Scientific  Basis  of  Morals, 

and  other  Essays.    By  William  King- 
don Clifford,  F.R.S. 

.'No.  56.    Illusions.    By  James  Sully.     Part.  I. 
No.  57.    Illusions.    Part  II. 

•,2*o.  58.  The  Origin  of  Species.  By  Charles 
Darwin.  Part  I.  (Double  number). 

:T*o.  59.  The  Origin  of  Species.  Part  II. 
(Double  Number). 

:.No.  60.    The  Childhood   of  the  World. 

By  Edward  Clodd,  F.R.A.S. 

*sio.  61.  Miscellaneous  Essays.  By  Richard 
A.  Proctor. 


.  53. 


No.  62.    The  Religions   of  the    Ancient 

World.     By  Prof.  Geo.  Rawlinson, 
Univ.  of  Oxford.  (Double  number). 

No.  63.  Progressive  Morality.  By  Thomas 
Fowler,  LL.D  ,  President  of  Corpus 
Christi  Coll.,  Oxford. 

No.  64.    The    Distribution    of   Animal* 

and  Plants.     By  A.  Russell  Wal- 
lace and  W.  T.  Thistleton  Dyer. 

No.  65.  Conditions  of  Mental  Develop- 
ment, and  other  Essays.  By  Wil- 
liam Kingdon  Clifford. 

No.  66.  Technical  Education,  and  other 
Essays  By  Thomas  H.  Huxley,  F.R.S. 

No.  67.  The  Black  Death.  An  account  of 
the  Great  Pestilence  of  the  i4th  Cen- 
tury. By  J.  F.  C.  Hecker,  M.D. 


No.  68. 
No.  69. 


No.  70. 
No.  71. 

No.  72. 
No.  73- 


No.  74. 
No.  75. 
No.  76. 
No.  77. 


Three  Essays.    By  Herbert  Spencer. 

Fetichism :  A  Contribution  to  An- 
thropology and  the  History  of  Reli- 
gion. By  Fritz  Schultze,  Ph.  D. 
(Double  number). 

Essays  Speculative  and  Practi- 
cal. By  Herbert  Spencer. 

Anthropology.  By  Daniel  Wilson, 
Ph.  D  With  Appendix  on  Archae- 
ology. By  E.  B.  Tylor,  F.R.S, 

The  Dancing  Mania  of  the  in  id- 
die  A  ges.  By  J.  F.  C.  Hecker,  M.D. 

Evolution  in  History,  Lan- 
guage and  Science.  Four  ad- 
dresses delivered  at  the  London 
Crystal  Palace  School  of  Art,  Science 
and  Literature. 

The  Descent  of  Man,  and  Selec- 
tion in  Relation  to  Sex.  (Numerous 
Illustrations).  By  Charles  Darwin. 
Nos.  74,  75,  76  are  single  Nos.;  No.  77  is 
a  double  No. 


No.  78.  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Dis- 
tribution of  Land  in  Kng- 
land.  By  William  Lloyd  Birbeck, 
M.A. 

No.  79.    Scientific  Aspect  of  some  Famil- 

iar Things.     By  W.  M.  Williams. 

No.  80.  Charles  Darwin.  His  Life  and 
Work.  By  Grant  Allen.  (Double 
Number). 

No.  81.  The  Mystery  of  Matter,  and  the 
Philosophy  o  I  Ignorance. 

Two  Essays  by  J.  Allanson  Picton. 


No.  82. 
No.  83. 


Illusions  of  the  Senses,  and  other 
Essays.    By  Richard  A.  Proctor. 


Profit-sharing    Between   Capi- 
tal and  Labor.     Six  Essays.    By 

Sedley  Taylor,  M  A. 

No.  84.    Studies    of    Animated    Nature. 

Four  Essays  on  Natural  History.    By 
W.  S.  Dallas,  F.L.S.,  and  Others. 

No.  85.    The  Essential  Nature  of  Relig* 

ieii.    By  J.  Allanson  Picton. 

No.  86.    The   Unseen     Universe,  and   the 

Philosophy  of  the  Pure  Sciences.    By 
Prof.  Wm.  Kingdon  Clifford,  F.R.S. 

No.  87.    The  Morphine  Habit.     By  Dr.  B. 

Ball,  of  the  Paris  Faculty  of  Medicine. 


THE  HUMBOLDT  LIBRARY  OF  SCIENCE. 


No  88.  Science  and  Crime  and  other 
Essays.  By  Andrew  Wilson,  F.R.S.E- 

No.  89.  The  Genesis  of  Science.  By  Her- 
bert Spencer. 

No.  90.    Notes     on     Earthquake*:     with 

Fourteen  Miscellaneous  Essays.     By 
Richard  A.  Proctor. 

No.  91.    The   Rise   of   Universities.      By 

S.  S.  Laurie,  LL.D.   (Double  number). 

No.  92.  The  Formation  of  Vegetable 
Mould  through  the  Action  of 
Earth  Worm*.  By  Charles  Dar- 
win, LL.D.,  F.R.S.  (Double  number). 

No.  93.    Scientific    Methods    of   Capital 

Punishment.   By  J.  Mount  Bleyer, 
MD. 

No.  94.  The  Factors  of  Organic  Evolu- 
tion. By  Herbert  Spencer. 

No  95.    The  Diseases  of  Personality.   By 

Th.     Ribot.       Translated    from    the 
French  by  J.  Fitzgerald,  M  A. 

No.  96.    A  Half-Century  of  Science.    By 

Thomas  H.  Huxley,  and  Grant  Allen. 

No.  97.    The   Pleasures   of  Life.     By  Sir 

John  Lubbock. 

No.  98.  Cosmic  Emotion:  Also  the 
Teachings  of  Science.  By  Wil- 
liam Kingdon  Clifford. 

No.  99.  Nature  Studies.  By  Prof.  F.  R. 
Eaton  Lowe ;  Dr.  Robert  Brown, 
FLS  ;  Geo.  G.  Chisholm,  F.R.G.S.; 
and  James  Dallas,  F.L.S. 

No.  100.    Science   and    Poetry,    with 

other  Essays.  By  Andrew  Wilson, 
F.R  S.E. 

No.  101.  JEsthetics;  Dreams  and  Asso- 
ciation of  Ideas.  By  James 
Sully  and  Geo.  Croom  Robertson. 

Ultimate    Finance;     A    True 
Theory  of  Co-operation.     By 

William  Nelson  Black. 


No.  102. 
No.  103. 


The  Coming  Slavery  :  The  Sins 
of  Legislators;  The  Great 
Political  Superstition.  By 

Herbert  Spencer. 


No.  104. 
No.  105. 


Tropical  Africa. 

mond,  F.R.S. 


By  Henry  Drum- 


No.  106. 
No.  107. 


Freedom  in  Science  and 
Teaching.  By  Ernst  Haeckel,  of 
the  University  of  Jena.  With  a  pref- 
atory Note  by  Proi.  Huxley. 

Force  and  Energy.  A  Theory 
of  Dynamics.  By  Grant  Allen. 

Ultimate  Finance.  A  True 
Theory  of  Wealth.  By  William 
Nelson  Black. 

No.  108.    English,    Past    and     Present. 

By  Richard  Chenevix  Trench.    Part  I. 
(Double  number). 

No.  109.    English.    Past     and    Present. 

Part  II. 

No.  no.    The  Story  of  Creation.  A  Plain 
Account    of    Evolution.       By 

Edward  Clodd.    (Double  number). 
No.  in.    The  Pleasures  of  Life.    Part  II. 

By  Sir  John  Lubbock. 


No.  112.    Psychology   of  Attention.      K* 

Th.  Ribot.  Translated  from  th£ 
French  by  J.  Fitzgerald,  M.A. 

No.  113.  Hypnotism.  Its  History  and  Devel- 
opment. By  Fredrik  Bjornstrom. 
M.D.,  Head  Physician  of  the  Stock- 
holm Hospital,  Professor  of  Psychia- 
try. Late  Royal  Swedish  Medicat 
Councillor.  Authorized  Translation 
from  the  Second  Swedish  Edition  by 
Baron  Nils  Posse,  M.G.,  Director  of 
the  Boston  School  of  Gymnastics.. 
(Double  number). 

No.  114.  Christianity  and  Agnosticism. 
A  Controversy.  Consisting  of 
papers  contributed  to  The  Nineteenth 
Century  by  Henry  Wace,  D.D.,  Prof. 
Thos.  H.  Huxley,  The  Bishop  of" 
Peterborough,  W.  H.  Mallock,  Mrs. 
Humphrey  Ward.  (Double  number).. 

No  115.  Darwinism  :  An  Exposition  of  the- 
Theory  of  Natural  Selection,  withL 
some  of  its  Applications.  By  Alfred. 
Russel  Wallace,  LL.D.,  F.L.S  ,  etc.. 
Illustrated.  Parti.  (Double number).. 

No.  116.  Darwinism.  Illustrated.  Part  II.. 
(Double  number). 

No.  117.    Modern    Science   and    Modern:; 

Thought.  ByS.  Laing.  Illustrated.. 
(Double  number). 

No.  118.  Modern  Science  and  Modern: 
Thought.  Part  II. 

No.  119.  The  Electric  Light  and  The  Stor- 
ing of  Electrical  Energy.  Illustrated.. 
Gerald  Molloy,  D.D.,  D.Sc. 

No.  120.    The  Modern   Theory   of  Heat 

and  The  Sun  as  a  Storehouse  of 
Energy.  Illustrated.  Gerald  Molloy,. 
D.D.,  D.Sc. 

No.  121.  Utilitarianism.  By  John  Stuart 
Mill. 

No.  122.  Upon  the  Origin  of  Alpine  and 
Italian  Lakes  and  upon  Glacia* 
Erosion.  Maps  and  Illustrations.  By- 
Ramsey,  Ball,  Murchison,  Studer,. 
Favre,  Whymper  and  Spencer.  Part 
I.  (Double  number). 

No.  123.  Upon  the  Origin  of  Alpine  and 
Italian  Lakes,  Etc.,  Etc.  Part  II. 

No.  124.  The  Quintessence  of  Social- 
ism. By  Prof.  A.  Schaffle. 

{Darwinism   and   Politics.     By- 
David  G.  Ritchie,  M  A. 
Administrative    Mhllism.     By- 
Thomas  Huxley,  F.R.S. 

No.  126.    Physiognomy  and  Expression.. 

By  P  Mantegazza.  Illustrated.  Part. 
I.  (Double  number). 

No.  127.    Physiognomy  and  Expression*. 

Part  II.    (Double  number). 

No.  128.    The     Industrial     Revolution. 

By  Arnold  Toynbee,  Tutor  of  Bahol 
College,  Oxford  With  a  short  mem- 
oir by  B.  Jowett.  Part  I.  (Double 
number). 

No.  129.  The  Industrial  Revolution . 
Part  II.  (Double  number). 

No.  130.    The  Origin  of  the  Aryans.    By 

Dr.  Isaac  Taylor.  Illustrated.  Park. 
I.  (Double  number). 


THE  HUMBOLDT  LIBRAR  Y  OF  SCIENCE. 


No.  131. 
>'o.  132 

No.  133. 
No.  134. 

m.  135. 

No.  136. 
No.  137. 
No.  138. 
No.  139. 

No.  140 

/No  141. 
^No  142 

JSTo.  143. 

"Ko  144. 
JVo  145 
No.  146 

No   147 

::NO  148 


The  Origin  of  I  he  Aryans.  Part 

II      (Double  number) 
The  Evolution  of  Sex.    By  Prof. 

P  Geddes  and  J    Arthur  Thomson. 

Illustrated    Parti    (Double number). 
The  Involution  ol    Sex.    Part II. 

(Double  number) 
The  I.  t\v  of  Private  Right.    By 

George  H   Smith      'Double  number). 
Cap  lal.    A  Critical  Analysis  of  Cap- 
italist   Production.      By   Karl  Marx. 

Parti      (Double  number- 
Capital.    Part  II      (Double  number) 
Capital.     Part  III    (Double  number) 
Capital.     Part  IV    (Double  number) 


Lightning.  Thunder  and  Lightning 
Conductors  Illustrated.  By  Gerald 
Molloy,  D  D  ,  D  Sc 


What  i«  mu-lc?  With  an  appen- 
dix on  How  the  Geometrical  Lines 
have  their  Counterparts  in  Music 
By  Isaac  i,.  Rice. 

Are  the  Effects  of  Use  and  Dis- 
n -e  Inherited?  By  William  Platt 
Ball 

A  Vindication  of  the  Rights  of 
Woman.  By  Mary  Wollstonecraft. 
With  an  Introduction  by  Mrs  Henry 
Fawcet  Parti  (Double  number). 

A  Vindication  of  the  Rights  of 
Woman.  Part  II  (Double  num- 
ber) 

Civilization;  Its  Cause  and 
Cure.  By  Edward  Carpenter 

Body  and  mind.  By  William 
Kingdon  Clifford 

Social  Diseases  and  Worse 
Remedies.  By  Thomas  H  Huxley, 
FR.S 

The  Soul  of  Ulan  under  Social- 
ism By  Oscar  Wilde. 

Electricity,  the  Science  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  By  E  C 
Caillard.  (Illustrated)  Parti.  (Dou- 
ble number). 


No  149.    Electricity.    Part  II. 

No.  150.    Degeneration;    A    Chapter    in 

Darwinism.     Illustraiea      By  E, 
Ray   Dankester,   M.A.,  X,-1.D.,  F.R.3. 

ND.  151.     JHental    suggestion        By    Dt      1. 

i\ o.  152.        Ochorowicz  Parti  (Dc..:?  number*. 

No.  153.     mental  Suggestion.    Part  II. 

No.  154.        (Double  number  ) 

No.  155.     Mental  Suggestion.     Part  III. 

No.  156.        (Double  number  ) 

No.  157.     m  -iital  Miguiention.    Part  IV. 

No.  158.        (Double  number). 

No.  159.  Modern  Science;  The  Scierce 
of  the  Future.  By  Edward  Car- 
penter. 

No.  160.  Siu«1i«'S  in  Pessimism.  By  Schop- 
enhauer. 

Flowers,    Fruit*   ami    leaves. 
Illustrated.     By  Sir  John   Lubbock, 
F.R.S.     (Double  number). 
Glimp*es  of  Nature.    Illustrated. 
By  Dr.  Andrew  Wilson.  F.R.S.E-   Part 

I.  (Double  number). 
C-limpses  or  Mature.    Part  II. 

No.  166.    Problems    of  the    i-ii-iire.      By 

Samuel  Lang.     Part  I. 
No.  167.    Problems  of  the    Future.     Part 

II.  (Double  number). 

No.  168.    Problems  of   the    Future.    Part 

III.  (Double  number). 

No.  169.  The  m  «»-al  Teach  inirs  of  Sci- 
ence. By  Arabella  B.  Buckley. 

No.  170.  Th<»  Wisdom  ot  £.!f«v  By  Schop- 
enhauer. (Double  number). 

No.  171.  The  mystery  of  Pain.  By  James 
Hinton. 

No.  172.  f  What    is    Property?     An  inquiry 

No.  173  J      into  the    Principle  of  Right  and  of 

No.  174.  j      Government.      By    P.    J.    Proudhon. 

No.  175.  I     (Four  double  numbers,  $1.20). 

No.  176.  The  History  and  Scope  of 
Zoology.  By  E.  Ray  Lankester. 

No.  177.  Evolution  and  Ethics.  By  Prof. 
T.  H.  Huxley. 


A    NKW    SERIKS. 


The  Social  Science  Library 

OF  THE  BEST  AUTHORS. 
PUBLISHED  HONTHLY  AT  POPULAR  PRICES. 


Paper  Cover,  25  cents  each;  Cloth,  extra,  75  cents  each. 


NOW  READY. 

:No.  i.    Six     Centuries     of    Work     and 

Wages.  By  James  E.  Thorold 
Rogers,  M.P.  Abridged,  with  charts 
and  summary.  By  W.  D.  P.  Bliss. 
Introduction  by  Prof.  R.  T.  Ely. 
No.  2.  The  Socialism  of  John  Stuart 
mill.  The  only  collection  of  Mill's 
Writings  on  Socialism. 
The  Socialism  and  Unsociall»m 
of  Thomas  Carlyle.  A  collection 
of  Carlyle's  social  writings  ;  together 
with  Joseph  Mazzini's  famous  essay 
protesting  against  Carlyle's  views. 
Vol.  I. 

The  socialism  and  I  11  so  <  lal  ism 
of  Thomas  Carlyle.    Vol.  II. 


.No.  3. 


No.  5. 


William     IHorri*,     Poet,    Artist, 

Socialist.      A    selection    from   his 

writings  together  with  a  sketch  of 

the  man.     Edited  by  Francis  Watts 

Lee. 
No.  6.    The     Fabian     E»says.      American 

Edition,  with  Introduction  and  Notes 

by  H.  G.  Wilshire. 
No.  7.    The      Economics      of      Herbert 

Spencer.     By  W.  C.  Owen. 
No.  8.    The  Communism  of  John  IS»»»- 

kin. 
No.  9.    Horace  Grecley  and   other    l*io- 

neers  of  American  &•  <elall»m« 

By  Charles  Sotheran. 


Special  Number,  35  cente.,  fa  Fofc 


LIST  OF  BOUND  BOOKS 

The  Humboldt  Library  Series. 

The  volumes  of  this  series  are  printed  on  a  superior  quality  of  paper, 
«.nd  bound  in  extra  cloth.  They  are  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  per  cent. 
cheaper  than  any  other  edition  of  the  same  books. 

STANDARD  WORKS  BY  VARIOUS  AUTHORS. 


A  Vindication  of  the  II  in  hi-  of  Wo- 
man. With  Strictures  on  Political  and 
Moral  Subjects.  By  Mary  Wollstonecraft. 
New  Edition,  with  an  introduction  by  Mrs. 
Henry  Fawcett.  Cloth  .........  $1.00 

Electricity:  the  Science  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  A  Sketch  for  General 
Readers.  By  E.  M.  Caillard,  author  of  "The 
Invisible  Powers  of  Nature."  With  Illustra- 
tions. Cloth  ..............  75  cts 

IHental  Suggestion.  By  J.  Ochorowicz. 
Sometime  Professor  Extraordinarius  of  Psy- 
chology and  Nature-  Philosophy  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Lemberg.  With  a  Preface  by  Chas. 
Richet.  Translated  from  the  French  by  J. 
Fitzgerald,  M.A.  Cloth  .........  $2.00 

Flowers,    Fruits,   and    Leaves.     By  Sir 

John  Lubbock,  F.R.S.,  D.C.I,.,  LL.D.    With 
Ninety-five  Illustrations.    Cloth  .   .   .   .  75  cts 

Glimpses  of  Nature.  By  Andrew  Wilson, 
F.R.S.E.,  F.L.S.  With  Thirty-five  Illustra- 
tions. Cloth  ..............  75  cts 

Problem*  of  the  Future.  and  Essays. 

By  Samuel  Laing,  author  of     Modern  Science 
and  Modern  Thought,"  etc.    Cloth  .   .   .  $1.25 


Naturalist  on  the  River  Amazon. 

A  Record  of  Adventures,  Habits  of  Animals, 
Sketches  of  Brazilian  and  Indian  Life,  and 
Aspects  of  Nature  under  the  Equator,  during 
Eleven  Years  of  Travel.  By  Henry  Walter 
Bates.  F.L.S.,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  of  England. 
New  Edition.  Large  Type.  Illustrated. 
Cloth  ..................  $1.00 

The  Religions  of  the  Ancient  World  : 

\  including  Egypt,  Assyria  and  Babylonia, 
Persia,  India,  Phoenicia,  Etruria,  Greece, 
Rome.  By  George  Rawlinson,  M.A.,  Camden 
Professor  of  Ancient  History,  Oxford,  and 
Canon  of  Canterbury.  Author  of  "  The  Origin 
•i  Nations,"  "The  Five  Great  Monarchies," 
JEtc.  Cloth  ...............  75  cts 


The  Rise  and  Early  Constitution  of 
Universities,  with  a  Survey  of  Mediaeval 
Education.  By  S.  S.  Laurie,  LL.D.,  Professor 
of  the  Institutes  and  History  of  Education  in 
the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Cloth  .  .  75  cts 

Fetichiffiu.  A  Contribution  to  Anthropology 
and  the  History  of  Religion.  By  Fntz 
Schultze,  Ph.D  Translated  from  the  German 
by  J.  Fitzgerald,  M.A.  Cloth 75  cts 

Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Ex- 
change. By  W.  Stanley  Jevons,  M  A., 
F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Logic  and  Political 
Economy  in  the  Owens  College,  Manchester, 

England.  Cloth 75  cts 

/ 

On  the  Study  of  Word*.  By  Richard 
Chenevix  Trench,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dub- 
lin. Cloth 75  cts 

The  Dawn  of  History.  An  Introduction 
to  Prehistoric  Study.  Edited  by  C.  F.  Keary, 
M.A.,  of  the  British  Museum.  Cloth  .  .  75  cts 

Geological     Sketches    at     Home     and 
Abroad.      By    Archibald    Geikie,    LL.D., 
F.R.S.,   Director-General  of  the  Geological 
Surveys  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
Cloth .75  cts 

Illusions:  A  Psycholoelcal  Study.    By 

James  Sully,  author  of  "Sensation  and  Intu- 
ition,1    "Pessimism,"  etc.    Cloth.   .   .  75  cts 

The  Pleasures  of  Life.  Part  I  and  Part 
II.  By  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart.  Two  Parts 
in  One.  Cloth 75  cts. 

English,  Past  and  Present.  Part  I.  and 
Part  II.  By  Richard  Chenevix  Trench,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Dublin.  Two  Parts  in  One. 
Cloth 75  cts 

Hypnotism:  Its  History  and  Present 
Development.  By  Fredrik  Bjornstrom, 
M.D.,  Head  Physician  of  the  Stockholm  Hos- 
pital, Professor  of  Psychiatry,  late  Royal 
Swedish  Medical  Councillor.  Cloth  .  .  75  cU 


THE  HUMBOLDT  LIBRARY  OF  SCIENCE. 


The  Story  of  Creation.  A  Plain  Account 
of  Evolution.  By  Edward  Clodd,  F.R.A.S. 
With  over  eighty  illustrations 75  cts 

Christianity  and  Agnosticism.  A  con- 
troversy, consisting  of  papers  by  Henry 
Wace,  D.D.,  Prebendary  of  St.  Paul's  Cathe- 
dral; Principal  of  King's  College,  Condon. 
Professor  :  homas  H.  Huxley.— W.  C.  Magee, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Peterborough.— W.  H.  Mai- 
lock,  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward.  Cloth  .  .  75  cts 

Da r \viuism :  An  Exposition  of  the 
Theory  of  Natural  Selection,  with 
some  of  its  applications.  By  Alfred  Russel 
Wallace,  LL.D.,  F.L.S.  With  portrait  of  the 
author,  colored  map,  and  numerous  illustra- 
tions. Cloth $1.25 

The  ablest  living  Darwinian  writer. — Cincin- 
nati Commercial  Gazette. 

The  most  important  contribution  to  the  study 
of  the  origin  of  species  and  the  evolution  of  man 
which  has  been  published  since  Darwin's  death. 
— New  York  Sun. 

There  is  no  better  book  than  this  in  which 
to  look  for  an  intelligent,  complete,  and  fair 
presentation  of  both  sides  of  the  discussion  on 
evolution. — New  York  Herald. 

Modern  Science  and  ITIodern  Thought. 

A  Clear  and  Concise  View  of  the  Principal 
Results  of  Modern  Science,  and  of  the  Revo- 
lution which  they  have  effected  in  Modern 
Thought.  With  a  Supplemental  Chapter  on 
Gladstone's  "Dawn  of  Creation"  and 
"Proem  to  Genesis,"  and  on  Drummond 
"Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World."  By 
S.  Laing.  Cloth •  75  cts 

Upon  the  Origin  of  Alpine  and  Italian 
Lakes;  and  Upon  Glacial  Erosion. 

By  A.  C.  Ramsay,  F.R.S.,  Etc.;  John  Ball, 
M.R.I.A.,  F.L.S.,  Etc.;  Sir  Roderick  I.  Mur- 
chison,  F.R.S.,  D.C.L.,  Etc.;  Prof.  B.  Studer, 
of  Berne ;  Prof.  A.  Favre,  of  Geneva  ;  and 
Edward  Whymper.  With  an  Introduction, 
and  Notes  upon  the  American  Lakes,  by  Prof. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Ph.D.,  F.G.S  ,  State  Geologist 
of  Georgia.  Cloth 75  cts 

Physiognomy    and     Expression.      By 

Paolo  Mantegazza,  Senator ;  Director  of  the 
National    Museum   of    Anthropology,    Flor- 
ence ;    President    of   the  Italian  Society  of 
Anthropology.    With  Illustrations. 
Cloth $1.00 

The  Industrial  Revolution  of  the 
Eighteenth  Cemury  in  England. 

Popular  Addresses,  Notes,  and  other  Frag- 
ments. By  the  late  Arnold  Toynbee.  Tutor 
of  Balliol  College,  Oxford.  Together  with  a 
short  memoir  by  B.  Jowett,  Master  of  Balliol 
College,  Oxford.  Cloth $1.00 

The  Origin  of  the  Aryans.  An  Account  of 
the  Prehistoric  Ethnology  and  Civilization 
of  Europe.  By  Isaac  Taylor,  M.A.,  Litt.  D., 
Hon.  LL.D.  Illustrated.  Cloth  ....  $1.00 

The  Law  of  Private  Riffht.  By  George 
H.  Smith,  author  of  "Elements  of  Right, 
and  of  the  Law,"  and  of  Essays  on  "The 
Certainty  of  the  Law,  and  the  Uncertainty  of 
Judicial  Decisions,"  "The  True  Method  of 
.  Legal  Education,"  Etc.,  Etc.  Cloth  .  .  75  cts 


The  Evolution  of  Sex.  By  Prof.  Patridr 
Geddes  and  J.  Arthur  Thomson.  With  103. 
Illustrations.  Cloth Ji.oo- 

Such  a  work  as  this,  written  by  Prof.  Geddesv 
who  has  contributed  many  articles  on  the  same 
and  kindred  subjects  to  the  Encyclopaedia  Brii- 
tannica,  and  by  Mr.  J.  Arthur  Thomson,  is  net 
lor  the  specialist,  though  the  specialist  may  find 
it  good  reading,  nor  for  the  reader  of  light  lite  £• 
ature,  though  the  latter  would  do  well  to  grapp  •• 
with  it.  Those  who  have  followed  Darwin^ 
Wallace,  Huxley  and  Haeckel  in  their  various 
publications,  and  have  heard  of  the  late*"  argiy 
ments  against  heredity  brought  forward  by  Pro*. 
Weissman,  will  not  be  likely  to  put  it  down 
unread.  .  .  .  The  authors  have  some  extremely 
interesting  idea$  to  state,  particularly  with 
regard  to  the  great  questions  of  sex  and  environ- 
ment in  their  relation  to  the  growth  of  life  on 
earth.  .  .  .  They  are  to  be  congratulated  on  th«- 
scholarly  and  clear  way  in  which  they  have 
handled  a  difficult  and  delicate  subject.—  Times. 

Capital:  A  Critical  Analysis  of  Capi- 
talistic Production.  By  Karl  Marx. 
Translated  from  the  third  German  edition., 
by  Samuel  Moore  and  Edward  Aveling,  ana 
edited  by  Frederick  Engel?.  The  onlv  A  meri- 
can  Edition.  Carefully  Revised.  Cloth,  $1.75. 

The  great  merit  of  Marx,  therefore,  lies  in. 
the  work  he  has  done  as  a  scientific  inquirer  inta- 
the  economic  movement  of  modern  times,  as  the 
philosophic  historian  of  the  capitalistic  era. — 
Encyclopaedia  Brittannica. 

So  great  a  position  has  not  been  won  by  any- 
work  on  Economic  Science  since  the  appearance 
of  The  Wealth  of  Nations.  .  .  .  All  these  circum- 
stances invest,  therefore,  the  teachings  of  this. 
particularly  acute  thinker  with  an  interest  such 
as  cannot  be.  claimed  by  any  other  thinker  of  the- 
presentday. —  The  Athenceum. 

What  is  Property?  An  Inquiry  into  the 
Principle  of  Right  and  of  Government.  By 
P.  J.  Proudhon.  Cloth $2.oa 

Thd  Philosophy  of  Misery.  A  System  of 
Economical  Contradictions.  By  P.  J  Proud- 
hon. Cloth ...  $2.00- 


Works  by  Professor  Huxley. 

Evidence  as  to  Man's  Place  in  Nature- 

With  numerous  illustrations 

AND 

On  the  Origin  of  Species ;  or,  the  Cause*, 
of  the  Phenomena  of  Organic 
Nature. 

Two  books  in  one  volume.    Cloth  ...  75  ct2L 


The  Physical  Basis  of  Life.    With  other 
Essays 

AND 

Lectures  on  Evolution.    With  an  Appen- 
dix on  the  Study  of  Biology. 
Two  books  in  one  volume.    Cloth  ...  75  cts- 


lOO.OOO  SOLD. 

HYPNOTISfl: 

ts     History     and     Rresent     Development. 
By  FREDRIK  BJORNSTROM,  W.  D., 

lead  Physician  of  the  Stockholm  Hospital,  Professor  of  Psychiatry,  Late  Royal  Swed- 
ish Medical  Counselor. 
Authorized  Translation  from  the  Second  Swedish  Edition. 

BY  BARON  NILES  POSEE,  M.  G., 

Director  of  the  Boston  School  of  Gymnastics. 

*aper  Cover  (No.  113  of  The  Humboldt  Library),  30  Cents 

Uoth,  Extra,        "  "  "  -  75  Cents 


PRESS  NOTICES. 

The  learned  Swedish  physician,  Bjornstrom. — Churchman. 

It  is  a  strange  and  mysterious  subject,  this  hypnotism. —  The  Sun. 

Perhaps  as  concise  as  any  work  we  have. — S.  California  Practitioner. 

We  have  found  this  book  exceedingly  interesting. — California  Homcepath. 

A  concise,  thorough,  and  scientific  examination  of  a  little-understood  subject. — Episco* 
*l  Recorder. 

Few   of  the  new  books  have  more  interest  for  scientist  and  layman  alike. — Sunday 

es  (Boston). 

The  study  of  hypnotism  is  in  fashion  again.  It  is  a  fascinating  and  dangerous  study.— 
oledo  Bee. 

It  is  well  written,  being  concise,  which  is  a  difficult  point  to  master  in  all  translations. — 
Medical  Bulletin  (Philadelphia). 

The  subject  will  be  fascinating  to  many,  and  it  receives  a  cautious  yet  sympathetic 
eatment  in  this  book. — Evangelist. 

One  of  the  most  timely  works  of  the  hour.  No  physician  who  would  keep  up  with  the 
nes  can  afford  to  be  without  this  work. — Quarterly  Journal  of  Inebriety. 

Its  aim  has  been  to  give  all  the  information  that  may  be  said  under  the  present  state  of 
ir  knowledge.  Every  physician  should  read  this  volume. — American  Medical  Journal 
It.  Louis). 

It  is  a  contribution  of  decided  value  to  a  much-disussed  and  but  little-analyzed  subject 
f  an  eminent  Swedish  alienist  known  to  American  students  of  European  psychiatry. — 
redical  Standard  (Chicago). 

This  is  a  highly  interesting  and  instructive  book.  Hypnotism  is  on  the  onward  march 
the  front  as  a  scientific  subject  for  serious  thought  and  investigation. —  The  Medical  Free 
ress  (Indianapolis). 

Many  of  the  mysteries  of  mesmerism,  and  all  that  class  of  manifestation,  are  here 
sated  at  length,  and  explained  as  far  as  they  can  be  with  our  present  knowledge  of  psy- 
lology. — New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 

The  marvels  of  hypnotic  phenomena  increase  with  investigation.  Dr.  Bjornstrom,  in 
is  clear  and  well-written  essay,  has  given  about  all  that  modern  science  has  been  able  to 
ivelop  of  these  phenomena. — Medical  Visitor  (Chicago). 

It  has  become  a  matter  of  scientific  research,  and  engages  the  attention  of  some  of  the 
remost  men  of  the  day,  like  Charcot,  of  Paris.  It  is  interesting  reading,  outside  of  any 
;ef  ulness,  and  may  take  the  place  of  a  novel  on  the  office  table. — Eclectic  Medical  Jour- 
il  (Cincinnati). 

This  interesting  book  contains  a  scholarly  account  of  the  history,  development,  and 
ientific  aspect  of  hypnotism.  As  a  whole,  the  book  is  of  great  interest  and  very  instruc- 
/e.  It  is  worthy  of  careful  perusal  by  all  physicians,  and  contains  nothing  unfit  to  be  read 
r  the  laity. — Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter  (Philadelphia). 

To  define  the  real  nature  of  hypnotism  is  as  dif^cult  as  to  explain  the  philosophy  of  toxic 
•therapeutic  action  of  medicine— more  so,  indeed.  None  the  less,  however,  does  it  be- 
)ove  tihe  practitioner  to  understand  what  it  does,  e/en  if  he  cannot  tell  just  what  it  is,  or 
DW  it  operates.  Dr.  Bjornstrom's  book  aims  to  give  a  general  review  of  the  entire  subject. 
•Medical  Record. 


SOLD  ONLY  BY  SUBSCRIPTION. 


COMPLETE  SETS  OF 

THE  HUMBOLDT  LIBRARY 

CAN  BE  OBTAINED  UNIFORM  IN  SIZE, 
STYLE  OF  BINDING,  ETC. 

The  Volumes  average  600  pages  each,  and  are  arranged  thus: 


Volume        I.    Contains  Numbers 1-12 

II.  "  "        13-24 

III.  "  "        25-36 

IV.  •«  "        37-48 

V.  "  "         49-59 

VI.  "  "        60-70 

VII.  "  "        71-80 

VIII.  "  "        81-91 

IX.  "  "        92-103 

X.  "  "        104-11 1 

XI.  "  "        112-118 

XII.  "  "        1:9-127 

XIII.  "  "        128-133 

XIV.  «  '<        134-139 

XV.  "  "        140-147 

XVI.  "  "        148-158 

XVII.  "  «        150-168 

XVIII.  "  «        ...                    169-175 


CLOTH,  EXTRA,  S2.0O  PER  VOLUME, 

OR  $36.00   FOR   18  VOLUMES. 


The  various  books  contained  in  this  Library  of  18  vol- 
umes would  cost  over  $300  if  bought  in  separate  volumes, 
as  published  in  London  and  New  York. 


1OO.OOO  SOLD 

HYPNOTISH: 


Its     History     and     Present     Development. 
By  FREDRIK  BJORNSTROM,  M.  D., 

Head  Physician  of  the  Stockholm  Hospital,  Professor  of  Psychiatry,   Late  Royal  Swed- 
ish  Medical    Counselor. 
Authorized  Translation  from  the  Second  Swedish  Edition. 

BY  BARON  NILES  POSEE,  M.  G., 

Director  of   the   Boston   School   of   Gymnastics. 

Paper  Cover  (No.  113  of  The  Humboldt  Library),  30  Cents 

Cloth,  Extra,        "  "  "  -  75  Cents 


PRESS   NOTICES. 

The  learned  Swedish  physician,  Bjornstrom. —  Churchman. 

It  is  a  strange  and  mysterious  subject,  this  hypnotism.—  The  Sun. 

Perhaps  as  concise  as  any  work  we  have.— .5".  California  Practitioner. 

We  have  found  this  book  exceedingly  interesting. —  California  Homcepath. 

A  concise,  thorough,  and  scientific  examination  of  a  little-understood  subject. — Episco- 
pal Recorder. 

Few  of  the  new  books  have  more  interest  for  scientist  and  layman  alike. — Sunday 
Times  (Boston). 

The  study  of  hypnotism  is  in  fashion  again.  It  is  a  fascinating  and  dangerous  study. — 
Toledo  Bee. 

It  is  well.written,  being  concise,  which  is  a  difficult  point  to  master  in  all  translations.— 
Medical  Bulletin  (Philadelphia). 

The  subject  will  be  fascinating  to  many,  and  it  receives  a  cautious  yet  sympathetic 
treatment  in  this  book. — Evangelist. 

One  of  the  most  timely  works  of  the  hour.  No  physician  who  would  keep  up  with  the 
times  can  afford  to  be  without  this  work. — Quarterly  Journal  of  Inebriety. 

Its  aim  has  been  to  give  all  the  information  that  may  be  said  under  the  present  state  of 
©ur  knowledge.  Every  physician  should  read  this  volume. — American  Medical  Journal 
(St.  Louis). 

"»  It  is  a  contribution  of  decided  value  to  a  much-disussed  and  but  little-analyzed  subject 
by  an  eminent  Swedish  alienist  known  to  American  students  of  European  psychiatry. — 
Medical  Standard  (Chicago). 

This  is  a  highly  interesting  and  instructive  book.  Hypnotism  is  on  the  onward  march 
to  the  front  as  a  scientific  subject  for  serious  thought  and  investigation. —  The  Medical  Free 
Press  (Indianapolis). 

Many  of  the  mysteries  of  mesmerism,  and  all  that  class  of  manifestation,  are  here 
treated  at  length,  and  explained  as  far  as  they  can  be  with  our  present  knowledge  of  psy- 
chology.— New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 

The  marvels  of  hypnotic  phenomena  increase  with  investigation.  Dr.  Bjornstrom,  in 
this  clear  and  well-written  essay,  fias  given  about  all  that  modern  science  has  been  able  to 
develop  of  these  phenomena. — Medical  Visitor  (Chicago). 

It  has  become  a  matter  of  scientific  research,  and  engages  the  attention  of  some  of  the 
foremost  men  of  the  day,  like  Charcot,  of  Paris.  It  is  interesting  reading,  outside  of  any 
usefulness,  and  may  take  the  place  of  a  novel  on  the  office  table. — Eclectic  Medical  Jour- 
nal (Cincinnati). 

This  interesting  book  contains  a  scholarly  account  of  the  history,  development,  and 
scientific  aspect  of  hypnotism.  As  a  whole,  the  book  is  of  great  interest  and  very  instruc- 
tive. It  is  worthy  of  careful  perusal  by  all  physicians,  and  contains  nothing  unfit  to  be  read 
by  the  laity. — Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter  (Philadelphia). 

To  define  the  real  nature  of  hypnotism  is  as  difficult  as  to  explain  the  philosophy  of  toxic 
>r  therapeutic  action  of  medicine— more  so,  inde(  d.     None  the  less,  however,  does  it  be- 
hoove the  practitioner  to  understand  what  it  does,  even  if  he  cannot  tell  just  what  it  is,  or 
how  it  operates.     Dr.  Bjorns'.rom's  book  aims  to  give  a  general  review  of  the  entire  subject. 
—Medical  Record. 

THE   HUnBOLDT   PUBLISHING  CO., 

64  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


SOLD   ONLY   BY  SUBSCRIPTION. 


COMPLETE  SETS  OF 

THE  HUMBOLDT  LIBRARY 


CAN  BE  OBTAINED  UNIFORM  IN  SIZE, 
STYLE  OF  BINDING,  ETC. 

The  Volumes  average  600  pages  each,  and  are  arranged 


Vol 

ume        I.     Cont 
II. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 
VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 
XV. 
XVI. 
'      XVII. 
«     XVIII. 

ains  Nurr 
t 

i 
t 

t 

»               < 

ibers                                                                                       T—  12 

IV  24 

17-48 

4Q-CQ 

6O-7O 

7I-8O 

81-01 

Q2-IO1 

.     .                                           .                            ..                       IO4-III 

112—  1  1  8 

.     IIO-I27 

I  ^4.-  1  ^Q 

140-147 

148-158 

150-168 

.  160-175 

CLOTH,  EXTRA,  $2.OO  PER  VOLUME, 

OR  $36.00   FOR   18  VOLUMES. 


The  various  books  contained  in  this  Library  of  18  vol- 
umes would  cost  over  $300  if  bought  in  separate  volumes 
as  published  in  London  and  New  York. 


PUBLISHED   AND   SOLD   BY 

THE   HUMBOLDT  PUBLISHING  CO., 

64  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


BDODTLSBn  

RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 
TO.-*     202  Main  Librar- 


HOME  USE 


ALL  BOOKS  AAAY  Bb  RECALLED  AH  VU  DAYS 


be  ™H,  4  days  prior  to  due  date 


ewels  nnH  recharges  may 


niiPASSTAMPEDBELOVy 


B 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKEl 
FORM  NO.  DD6,  40m,  3/78  BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


